¹⁶ And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, ^(A)David’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^(B)Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷ So Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? ^(C)Why did you not go with your friend?”

¹⁸ And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ Furthermore, ^(D)whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.”

²² And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord ^(A)struck him, because ^(B)he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and ^[a]died.

² “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken ^(A)the yoke of the king of Babylon. ^3 (B)Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(C)took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ And I will bring back to this place ^[a]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

¹³ Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

⁶ Then the king of Israel ^(A)gathered ^[a]the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?”

So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

⁷ So Hushai said to Absalom: “The advice 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 enraged in their minds, like ^(A)a bear robbed of her cubs in the field; and your father is a man of war, and will not camp with the people. ⁹ Surely by now he is hidden in some pit, or in some other place. And it will be, when some of them are overthrown at the first, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will ^(B)melt completely. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. ¹¹ Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, ^(C)from Dan to Beersheba, ^(D)like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. ¹² So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men who are with him there shall not be left so much as one. ¹³ Moreover, if he has withdrawn into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city; and we will ^(E)pull it into the river, until there is not one small stone found there.”

² Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a ^(A)lawsuit^[a] came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your ^[b]case is good and right; but there is no ^[c]deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴ Moreover Absalom would say, ^(B)“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵ And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and ^(C)kiss him. ⁶ In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. ^(D)So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ Now it came to pass ^(E)after ^[d]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^(F)Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord.