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2 Samuel 17
New American Standard Bible

Hushai’s Counsel

17 Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose twelve thousand men and let me set out and pursue David tonight. 2 (A)And I will [a]attack him while he is weary and [b]exhausted and startle him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then (B)I will strike and kill the king when he is alone, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you. [c]The return of everyone depends on the man whom you are seeking; then all the people will be at (C)peace.” 4 And the [d]plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 Nevertheless, Absalom said, “Now call (D)Hushai the Archite also, and let’s hear what [e]he has to say.” 6 When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to [f]him, “Ahithophel has [g]proposed this plan. Should we [h]carry out his plan? If not, say so yourself.” 7 So Hushai said to Absalom, “(E)This time the advice that Ahithophel has [i]given is not good.” 8 Then Hushai said, “You yourself know your father and his men, that they are warriors and they are [j]fierce, (F)like a bear deprived of her cubs in the field. And your father is an [k]expert in warfare, and he will not spend the night with the people. 9 Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the ravines, or in another place; and it will be that when he falls on them at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom!’ 10 And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, (G)will completely despair; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. 11 But I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, (H)from Dan even to Beersheba, (I)like the sand that is by the sea in abundance; and that [l]you personally go into battle. 12 Then we will come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will [m]fall on him (J)just as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left. 13 And if he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will (K)drag it into the [n]valley until not even a pebble is found there.” 14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For (L)the Lord had ordained to foil the good advice of Ahithophel, in order for the Lord to bring disaster on Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

15 Then (M)Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “[o]This is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do, and [p]this is what I have advised. 16 Now then, send a messenger quickly and tell David, saying, ‘(N)Do not spend the night at the river crossing places of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be [q]destroyed.’” 17 (O)Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at (P)En-rogel, and a female servant would go and inform them, and they would go and inform King David, for they could not allow themselves to be seen entering the city. 18 But a boy did see them, and he told Absalom; so the two of them left quickly and came to the house of a man (Q)in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down [r]into it. 19 And (R)the woman [s]took a cover and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered barley meal on it, so that nothing was known. 20 Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And (S)the woman said to them, “They have crossed the brook of water.” And when they searched and did not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 It came about after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and reported to King David; and they said to David, “(T)Set out and cross over the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel has advised against you.” 22 Then David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by [t]dawn not even one remained who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been [u]followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to (U)his city, and [v](V)set his house in order, and (W)hanged himself; so he died and was buried in his father’s grave.

24 Then David came to (X)Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 25 Absalom put (Y)Amasa [w]in command of the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was [x]Ithra the Israelite, who [y]had relations with Abigail the daughter of (Z)Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

27 Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi (AA)the son of Nahash from (AB)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, (AC)Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and (AD)Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought (AE)beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted seeds, 29 honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him, (AF)to eat. For they said, “The people are hungry and exhausted and thirsty in the wilderness.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 17:2 Lit come upon
  2. 2 Samuel 17:2 Lit slack of hands
  3. 2 Samuel 17:3 Lit As the return of the whole is the man whom you seek
  4. 2 Samuel 17:4 Lit word was pleasing in the sight of
  5. 2 Samuel 17:5 Lit is in his mouth—even he
  6. 2 Samuel 17:6 Lit him, saying
  7. 2 Samuel 17:6 Lit spoken according to this word
  8. 2 Samuel 17:6 Lit do his word
  9. 2 Samuel 17:7 Lit advised
  10. 2 Samuel 17:8 Lit bitter of soul
  11. 2 Samuel 17:8 Lit man of war
  12. 2 Samuel 17:11 Lit your face goes
  13. 2 Samuel 17:12 Lit settle down
  14. 2 Samuel 17:13 Or wadi; i.e., a dry stream bed
  15. 2 Samuel 17:15 Lit According to this and this
  16. 2 Samuel 17:15 Lit According to this and this
  17. 2 Samuel 17:16 Lit swallowed up
  18. 2 Samuel 17:18 Lit there
  19. 2 Samuel 17:19 Lit took and spread the covering
  20. 2 Samuel 17:22 Lit the light of the morning
  21. 2 Samuel 17:23 Lit done
  22. 2 Samuel 17:23 Lit ordered in regard to
  23. 2 Samuel 17:25 Lit over the army
  24. 2 Samuel 17:25 In 1 Chr 2:17, Jether the Ishmaelite
  25. 2 Samuel 17:25 Lit came in to
Close ISV

2 Samuel 17
International Standard Version

17 1 “Give me 12,000 men! I’ll leave[a] tonight and pursue David,” Ahithophel advised Absalom. 2 “I’ll catch him while he is still tired and weak.[b] I’ll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I’ll only kill the king. 3 Then I’ll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you’re looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly.”

4 Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, 5 Absalom replied, “Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!” 6 When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, “Here’s what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!”

Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice

7 “Ahithophel’s advice is not best at this time,” Hushai suggested to Absalom. 8 “You know how strong your father and his men are. They’re as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won’t stay with his army at night. 9 Look! He’s probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, ‘Absalom’s army is losing!’ 10 Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! 11 So here’s my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other![c] You’ll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you’ll go into battle! 12 We’ll go find David wherever he’s hiding. We’ll fall on him like dew on the ground! We’ll kill him and all of his men, and we won’t leave even one man alive! 13 If he escapes into a city, we’ll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won’t leave a single stone left in the valley!”

14 Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s!”

Hushai Warns David

But the Lord had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the Lord could bring Absalom to destruction. 15 So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, 16 “Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage[d] will survive.”

17 Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. 18 But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. 19 The man’s wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place.[e]

20 When Absalom’s servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

“They’ve already crossed the brook,” the woman answered. So Absalom’s servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn’t find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

21 A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, “Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you…” 22 So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River.[f] Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn’s first light.

Ahithophel’s Suicide

23 Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged[g] himself. After his death he was buried in his father’s tomb.

David Receives Supplies in the Wilderness

24 Later, David arrived at Mahanaim. Absalom and all of the Israelis who supported him crossed the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had installed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. His mother was Abigail, a daughter of Nahash and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.) 26 Absalom and the Israelis with him[h] camped in the territory of Gilead. 27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi (Nahash’s son from the Ammonite town of Rabbah), Makir (Ammiel’s son from Lo-debar), and Barzillai (from Rogelim in Gilead) were already there. 28 They brought along bedding, bowls, clay basins, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grains, beans, peas, 29 honey, cheeses,[i] sheep, and cheese made from cow’s milk for David and his entourage because they had been reasoning, “The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the wilderness.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 17:1 Lit. get up
  2. 2 Samuel 17:2 Lit. and weak-handed
  3. 2 Samuel 17:11 Lit. from Dan to Beer-sheba; i.e. Hushai was stalling for time, since Dan was the northernmost Israeli city and Beer-sheba its southernmost.
  4. 2 Samuel 17:16 Lit. people; and so throughout the chapter
  5. 2 Samuel 17:19 Lit. And nothing was known
  6. 2 Samuel 17:22 The Heb. lacks River; and so throughout the chapter
  7. 2 Samuel 17:23 Lit. strangled
  8. 2 Samuel 17:26 The Heb. lacks with him
  9. 2 Samuel 17:29 Or milk curds
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