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2 Samuel 15
New Living Translation

Absalom’s Rebellion

15 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”

5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. 6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.

7 After four years,[a] Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him. 8 For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron[b] if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”

9 “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.”

So Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’” 11 He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. 12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

14 “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”

15 “We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”

16 So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. 17 The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house 18 to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard.[c]

19 Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, “Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. 20 You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the Lord show you his unfailing love and faithfulness.[d]”

21 But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the Lord and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”

22 David replied, “All right, come with us.” So Ittai and all his men and their families went along.

23 Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.

24 Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices[e] until everyone had passed out of the city.

25 Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle[f] again. 26 But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”

27 The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look,[g] here is my plan. You and Abiathar[h] should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River[i] and wait there for a report from you.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.

30 David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill. 31 When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”

32 When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 33 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace, 36 and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.”

37 So David’s friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.

Footnotes

  1. 15:7 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads forty years.
  2. 15:8 As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks in Hebron.
  3. 15:18 Hebrew the Kerethites and Pelethites.
  4. 15:20 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads and may unfailing love and faithfulness go with you.
  5. 15:24 Or Abiathar went up.
  6. 15:25 Hebrew and his dwelling place.
  7. 15:27a As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Are you a seer? or Do you see?
  8. 15:27b Hebrew lacks and Abiathar; compare 15:29.
  9. 15:28 Hebrew at the crossing points of the wilderness.
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2 Samuel 15
International Standard Version

Absalom Instigates Civil War

15 Sometime later, Absalom acquired a chariot equipped with horses and recruited[a] 50 men to accompany[b] him.[c] 2 Then he[d] would get up early, stand near the passageway to the palace[e] gate, and when anyone arrived to file a legal complaint for a hearing before the king, Absalom would call to him and ask, “You’re from what city?” If[f] he replied, “Your servant is from one of Israel’s tribes,” 3 Absalom would respond, “Look, your claims are valid and defensible, but nobody will listen to you on behalf of the king. 4 Who will appoint me to be a judge in the land? When anyone arrived to file a legal complaint or other cause, he could approach me for justice and I would settle it!” 5 Furthermore, if a man approached him to bow down in front of him, he would put out his hand, grab him, and embrace him. 6 By doing all of this to anyone who came to the king for a hearing, Absalom stole the loyalty[g] of the men of Israel.

7 And so it was that forty[h] years after Israel had demanded a king,[i] Absalom asked the king, “Please let me go to Hebron so I can pay my vow that I made to the Lord, 8 because when I was living at Geshur in Aram, your servant made this solemn promise:[j] ‘If the Lord ever brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’”

9 The king replied to him, “Go in peace!” So Absalom[k] got up and left for Hebron.

10 But Absalom sent agents throughout all of the tribes of Israel, telling them, “When you hear the sound of the battle trumpet, you’re to announce that Absalom is king in Hebron.” 11 Meanwhile, 200 men left Jerusalem with Absalom. They had been invited to go along, but were innocent, not knowing anything about what was happening.[l] 12 Absalom also sent for Ahithophel[m] the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come[n] from his home town of Giloh while Absalom[o] was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.

David Flees from Jerusalem

13 Then a messenger arrived to inform David, “The loyalties of the men[p] of Israel have shifted to[q] Absalom.”

14 So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, “Let’s get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he’ll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!”

15 “Look!” the king’s staff replied. “Your servants will do whatever the king chooses.” 16 So the king left, taking his entire household with him except for ten mistresses,[r] who were to keep the palace in order. 17 The king left, along with all of his people with him, and they paused at the last house. 18 All of his staff were going on ahead of[s] him—that is, all of the special forces[t] and mercenaries,[u] all of the Gittites, and 600 men who had come to serve[v] him from Gath, went on ahead of the king.

19 Then the king suggested to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you have to go with us? Return and stay with the new[w] king, since you’re a foreigner and exile. Stay where you want to stay.[x] 20 It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!”

21 “As the Lord lives,” Ittai answered in reply, “and as your majesty the king lives, wherever your majesty my king may be—whether living or dying—that’s where your servant will be!”

22 So David replied, “Come along, then!” So Ittai the Gittite went along also, accompanied by all of his men and all of his little ones. 23 With all of the people in[y] the territory crying loudly, everybody passed over the Kidron brook, along with the king. Then everyone headed out toward the road that leads to the wilderness.

24 Meanwhile, Zadok showed up also, along with all of the descendants of Levi with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God and Abiathar approached while all the people finished abandoning the city. 25 The king told Zadok, “Take the Ark of God back to the city. If I’m shown favor in the Lord’s sight, then he’ll bring me back again and show me both it and the place where it rests.[z] 26 But if he should say something like ‘I’m not pleased with you,’ well then, here I am—let him do to me whatever seems right to him.”

27 The king also asked Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer, too? Go back to the city in comfort, along with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 Look! I’ll camp at the wilderness fords until you send word to inform me.”

29 So Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there. 30 David then left, going up the Mount of Olives,[aa] crying as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. All of the people who were with him covered their own heads and climbed up the Mount of Olives,[ab] crying as they went along.

31 Just then, someone told David, “Ahithophel is one of Absalom’s conspirators!”

So David prayed, “Lord, please turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

Hushai Serves as a Spy

32 Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head! 33 David greeted him, “If you come along with me, you’ll be a burden to me. 34 So go back to the city and tell Absalom, ‘I’ll be your servant, your majesty! Just as I served your father in the past, I can be your servant now.’ That way you can manipulate Ahithophel’s advice to my benefit. 35 Won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? So whatever you hear from the king’s palace, you’re to report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Their two sons—Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan—are with them there. You’ll be sending me everything that you hear through them.” 37 So David’s friend Hushai went back to the city just as Absalom was arriving in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 15:1 The Heb. lacks recruited
  2. 2 Samuel 15:1 Lit. to run before
  3. 2 Samuel 15:1 Cf. 1Sam 8:11
  4. 2 Samuel 15:2 Lit. Absalom
  5. 2 Samuel 15:2 The Heb. lacks palace
  6. 2 Samuel 15:2 The Heb. lacks If
  7. 2 Samuel 15:6 Lit. hearts
  8. 2 Samuel 15:7 So MT and LXX; Syr Peshitta and Lucian recension of LXX read four
  9. 2 Samuel 15:7 The Heb. lacks after Israel had demanded a king; i.e. about ten years before David began his reign. Or forty years after David’s anointing at Bethlehem; cf. 1Sam 16:13
  10. 2 Samuel 15:8 Lit. servant vowed a vow
  11. 2 Samuel 15:9 Lit. he
  12. 2 Samuel 15:11 Lit. about the matter
  13. 2 Samuel 15:12 Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather; cf. 2Sam 11:3; 23:34
  14. 2 Samuel 15:12 The Heb. lacks to come
  15. 2 Samuel 15:12 Lit. he
  16. 2 Samuel 15:13 Lit. heart of the man
  17. 2 Samuel 15:13 Lit. have followed after
  18. 2 Samuel 15:16 Or concubines; i.e. secondary wives
  19. 2 Samuel 15:18 Lit. on beside
  20. 2 Samuel 15:18 Lit. Cherethites; i.e. elite body guards
  21. 2 Samuel 15:18 Lit. Pelethites; i.e. special couriers
  22. 2 Samuel 15:18 Lit. come at his feet
  23. 2 Samuel 15:19 The Heb. lacks new
  24. 2 Samuel 15:19 Lit. Stay in your own place
  25. 2 Samuel 15:23 The Heb. lacks of the people in
  26. 2 Samuel 15:25 Lit. and his habitation
  27. 2 Samuel 15:30 Lit. the Olivet
  28. 2 Samuel 15:30 The Heb. lacks the Mount of Olives
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