2 Samuel 17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
17 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,(A) 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,[a] and all the people will be at peace.” 4 The advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
The Counsel of Hushai
5 Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear too what he has to say.”(B) 6 When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “This is what Ahithophel has said; shall we do as he advises? If not, you tell us.” 7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai continued, “You know that your father and his men are warriors and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the troops.(C) 9 Even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And when some of our troops[b] fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’ 10 Then even the valiant warrior whose heart is like the heart of a lion will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are valiant warriors.(D) 11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground, and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him. 13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley until not even a pebble is to be found there.” 14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring ruin on Absalom.(E)
Hushai Warns David to Escape
15 Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have counseled.(F) 16 Therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’ ”(G) 17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel; a female slave used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city.(H) 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.(I) 19 The man’s wife took a covering, stretched it over the well’s mouth, and spread out grain on it, and nothing was known of it.(J) 20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have crossed over the brook[c] of water.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.(K)
21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, “Go and cross the water quickly, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.”(L) 22 So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.(M)
24 Then David came to Mahanaim, while Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.(N) 25 Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,[d] who had married Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.(O) 26 The Israelites and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim(P) 28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils,[e] 29 honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”(Q)
2 Samuel 17
New English Translation
The Death of Ahithophel
17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me pick out 12,000 men. Then I will go and pursue David this very night. 2 When I catch up with[a] him he will be exhausted and worn out.[b] I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king 3 and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone.[c] The entire army will return unharmed.”[d]
4 This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders[e] of Israel. 5 But Absalom said, “Call for[f] Hushai the Arkite, and let’s hear what he has to say.”[g] 6 So Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to him, “Here is what Ahithophel has advised. Should we follow his advice? If not, what would you recommend?”
7 Hushai replied to Absalom, “Ahithophel’s advice is not sound this time.”[h] 8 Hushai went on to say, “You know your father and his men—they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs.[i] Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army. 9 At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first,[j] whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’ 10 If that happens even the bravest soldier—one who is lion-hearted—will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave. 11 My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba—in number like the sand by the sea—be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle. 12 We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive—not one of them! 13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”
14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite sounds better than the advice of Ahithophel.” Now the Lord had decided[k] to frustrate the sound advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.
15 Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Here is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the leaders[l] of Israel to do, and here is what I have advised. 16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him,[m] “Don’t spend the night at the fords[n] of the wilderness tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over,[o] or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.”[p]
17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying in En Rogel. A female servant would go and inform them, and they would then go and inform King David. It was not advisable for them to be seen going into the city. 18 But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it. 19 His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done.
20 When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied to them, “They crossed over the stream.” Absalom’s men[q] searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan[r] climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream[s] quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.”[t] 22 So David and all the people who were with him got up and crossed the Jordan River.[u] By dawn there was not one person left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his hometown. After setting his household in order, he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the grave[v] of his father.
24 Meanwhile David had gone to Mahanaim, while Absalom and all the men of Israel had crossed the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had made Amasa general in command of the army in place of Joab. (Now Amasa was the son of an Israelite man named Jether, who had married[w] Abigail the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.) 26 The army of Israel[x] and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 28 brought bedding, basins, and pottery utensils. They also brought food for David and all who were with him, including wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,[y] 29 honey, curds, flocks, and cheese.[z] For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.”[aa]
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 17:2 tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”
- 2 Samuel 17:2 tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”
- 2 Samuel 17:3 tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.
- 2 Samuel 17:3 tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”
- 2 Samuel 17:4 tn Heb “elders.”
- 2 Samuel 17:5 tc In the MT the verb is singular, but in the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate it is plural.
- 2 Samuel 17:5 tn Heb “what is in his mouth.”
- 2 Samuel 17:7 tn Heb “Not good is the advice which Ahithophel has advised at this time.”
- 2 Samuel 17:8 tc The LXX (with the exception of the recensions of Origen and Lucian) repeats the description as follows: “Just as a female bear bereft of cubs in a field.”
- 2 Samuel 17:9 tn Heb “that he falls on them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] at the first [encounter]; or “that some of them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] fall at the first [encounter].”
- 2 Samuel 17:14 tn Heb “commanded.”
- 2 Samuel 17:15 tn Heb “elders.”
- 2 Samuel 17:16 tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”
- 2 Samuel 17:16 tc The MT reads “the rift valleys (עֲרָבוֹת, ʿaravot) of the wilderness.” The plural form typically refers to the gently sloping plains at the basin of the rift valley just north of the Dead Sea (while the larger rift valley extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba). Many translations render as the “fords” (NASB, ESV, NIV, NRSV) assuming the reversal of two letters as עֲבָרוֹת (ʿavarot, “fords, crossing”).
- 2 Samuel 17:16 tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”
- 2 Samuel 17:16 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
- 2 Samuel 17:20 tn Heb “they”; the referents (Absalom’s men) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “the water.”
- 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.
- 2 Samuel 17:22 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text here or in v. 24, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 17:23 tc The Greek recensions of Origen and Lucian have here “house” for “grave.”
- 2 Samuel 17:25 tn Heb “come to.”
- 2 Samuel 17:26 tn Heb “and Israel.”
- 2 Samuel 17:28 tc The MT adds “roasted grain” וְקָלִי (veqali) at the end of v. 28, apparently accidentally repeating the word from its earlier occurrence in this verse. With the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and an Old Latin ms the translation deletes this second occurrence of the word.
- 2 Samuel 17:29 tn Heb “cheese of the herd,” probably referring to cheese from cow’s milk (rather than goat’s milk).
- 2 Samuel 17:29 tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
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