1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (^[a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ^[b]Himself.^(A)

² He was present originally with God.

³ All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

⁴ In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

⁵ And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].

⁶ There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.^(B)

⁷ This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.

⁸ He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.

⁹ There it was—the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.^(C)

¹⁰ He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].

¹¹ He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own—His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.

¹² But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—^(D)

¹³ Who owe their birth neither to ^[c]bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

¹⁴ And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.^(E)

¹⁵ John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]

¹⁶ For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

¹⁷ For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (^[d]unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.^(F)

¹⁸ No man has ever seen God at any time; the only ^[e]unique Son, or ^[f]the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].^(G)

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15 After this, Absalom got a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

² And [he] rose up early and stood beside the gateway; and when any man who had a controversy came to the king for judgment, Absalom called to him, Of what city are you? And he would say, Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel.

³ Absalom would say to him, Your claims are good and right, but there is no man appointed as the king’s agent to hear you.

⁴ Absalom added, Oh, that I were judge in the land! Then every man with any suit or cause might come to me and I would do him justice!

⁵ And whenever a man came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.

⁶ Thus Absalom did to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ And after [four] years, Absalom said to the king, I pray you, let me go to Hebron [his birthplace] and pay my vow to the Lord.

⁸ For your servant vowed while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, If the Lord will bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord [by offering a sacrifice].

⁹ And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, Absalom is king at Hebron.

¹¹ With Absalom went 200 men from Jerusalem, who were invited [as guests to his sacrificial feast]; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not a thing.

¹² And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy was strong; the people with Absalom increased continually.

¹³ And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.

¹⁴ David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, or else none of us will escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us and smite the city with the sword.

¹⁵ And the king’s servants said to the king, Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king says.

¹⁶ So the king and all his household after him went forth. But he left ten women who were concubines to keep the house.^(A)

¹⁷ The king went forth with all the people after him, and halted at the last house.

¹⁸ All David’s servants passed on beside him, along with [his bodyguards] all the Cherethites, Pelethites; also all the Gittites, 600 men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

¹⁹ The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why do you go with us also? Return to your place and remain with the king [Absalom], for you are a foreigner and an exile.

²⁰ Since you came only yesterday, should I make you go up and down with us? Since I must go where I may, you return, and take back your brethren with you. May loving-kindness and faithfulness be with you.

²¹ But Ittai answered the king, As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or life, even there also will your servant be.

²² So David said to Ittai, Go on and pass over [the Kidron]. And Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

²³ All the country wept with a loud voice as all the people passed over. The king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people went on toward the wilderness.

²⁴ Abiathar [the priest] and behold, Zadok came also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until all the people had gone from the city.

²⁵ Then the king told Zadok, Take back the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His house.

²⁶ But if He says, I have no delight in you, then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him.

²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, Are you not a seer? [You and Abiathar] return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan son of Abiathar.

²⁸ See, I will wait at the fords [at the Jordan] of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.

²⁹ Zadok, therefore, and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem and they stayed there.

³⁰ And David went up over the Mount of Olives and wept as he went, barefoot and his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, weeping as they went.

³¹ David was told, Ahithophel [your counselor] is among the conspirators with Absalom. David said, O Lord, I pray You, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.

³² When David came to the summit [of Olivet], where he worshiped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent and earth upon his head.

³³ David said to him, If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.

³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in the past, so will I be your servant now, then you may defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.

³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, just tell it to [them].

³⁶ Behold, their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them send to me everything you hear.

³⁷ So Hushai, David’s friend, returned, and Absalom also came into Jerusalem.

16 When David was a little past the top [of Olivet], behold, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him with a couple of donkeys saddled, and upon them 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, 100 summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

² The king said to Ziba, What do you mean by these? Ziba said, The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who become faint in the wilderness.

³ The king said, And where is your master’s son [grandson Mephibosheth]? Ziba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father [grandfather Saul].

⁴ Then the king said to Ziba, Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours. Ziba said, I do obeisance; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord O king.

⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul, Shimei son of Gera, came out and cursed continually as he came.

⁶ And he cast stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

⁷ Shimei said as he cursed, Get out, get out, you man of blood, you base fellow!

⁸ The Lord has avenged upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hands of Absalom your son. Behold, the calamity is upon you because you are a bloody man!

⁹ Then said [David’s nephew] Abishai son of Zeruiah to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.

¹⁰ The king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, Curse David, who then shall ask, Why have you done so?

¹¹ And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who was born to me, seeks my life. With how much more reason now may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone; and let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him to do it.

¹² It may be that the Lord will look on the iniquity done me and will recompense me with good for his cursing this day.

¹³ So David and his men went by the road, and Shimei went along on the hillside opposite David and cursed as he went and threw stones and dust at him.

¹⁴ And the king and all the people who were with him came [to the Jordan] weary, and he refreshed himself there.

¹⁵ And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

¹⁶ And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to [him], Long live the king! Long live the king!

¹⁷ Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your kindness and loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?

¹⁸ Hushai said to Absalom, No, for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him I will remain.

¹⁹ And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so will I serve you.

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your counsel. What shall we do?

²¹ And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to your father’s concubines whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be made strong.

²² So they spread for Absalom a tent on the top of the [king’s] house, and Absalom went in to his father’s harem in the sight of all Israel.

²³ And the counsel of Ahithophel in those days was as if a man had consulted the word of God; so was all Ahithophel’s counsel considered both by David and by Absalom.

17 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me choose 12,000 men and I will set out and pursue David this night.

² I will come upon him while he is exhausted and weak, and cause him to panic; all the people with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone.

³ I will bring back all the people to you. [The removal of] the man whom you seek is the assurance that all will return; and all the people will be at peace.

⁴ And what he said pleased Absalom well and all the elders of Israel.

⁵ Absalom said, Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he says.

⁶ When Hushai came, Absalom said to him, Ahithophel has counseled thus. Shall we do what he says? If not, speak up.

⁷ And Hushai said to Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good at this time.

⁸ For, said Hushai, you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are embittered and enraged like a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

⁹ Behold, he is hidden even now in some pit or other place; and when some of them are overthrown at the first, whoever hears it will say, There is a slaughter among the followers of Absalom.

¹⁰ And even he who is brave, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and that those who are with him are brave men.

¹¹ Therefore I counsel that all [the men of] Israel be gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in your own person.

¹² So shall we come upon [David] some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew settles [unseen and unheard] on the ground; and of him and of all the men with him there shall not be left so much as one.

¹³ If he withdraws into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the ravine until not one pebble is left there.

¹⁴ Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel. For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

¹⁵ Then said Hushai to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counseled.

¹⁶ Now send quickly and tell David, Lodge not this night at the fords [at the Jordan] of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king be swallowed up and all the people with him.

¹⁷ Now [the youths] Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed at En-rogel, for they must not be seen coming into the city. But a maidservant went and told them, and they went and told King David.

¹⁸ But a lad saw them and told Absalom; but they left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they went down into it.

¹⁹ And the woman spread a covering over the well’s mouth and spread ground corn on it; and the thing was not discovered.

²⁰ For when Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They went over the brook of water. When they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After they had departed, the boys came up out of the well and went and told King David, and said, Arise and pass quickly over the river Jordan; for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.

²² David arose and all the people with him and passed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not one was left who had not crossed.

²³ But when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, went home to his city, put his household in order, and hanged himself and died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.

²⁴ Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

²⁵ Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of an [Ishmaelite] named Ithra, who married Abigail daughter of Nahash, [half sister of David and] sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

²⁶ So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash of Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim

²⁸ Brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched [pulse—seeds of peas and beans],

²⁹ Honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of cows for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.