2 Samuel 15:1-12
New English Translation
Absalom Leads an Insurrection against David
15 Some time later Absalom managed to acquire[a] a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard.[b] 2 Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, “What city are you from?” The person would answer, “I, your servant,[c] am from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Absalom would then say to him, “Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate.[d] But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.” 4 Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me[e] a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint[f] could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”
5 When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom[g] would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him. 6 Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty[h] of the citizens[i] of Israel.
7 After four[j] years Absalom said to the king, “Let me go and repay my vow that I made to the Lord while I was in Hebron. 8 For I made this vow[k] when I was living in Geshur in Aram: ‘If the Lord really does allow me to return to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord.’” 9 The king replied to him, “Go in peace.” So Absalom[l] got up and went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent spies through all the tribes of Israel who said, “When you hear the sound of the horn, you may assume[m] that Absalom rules in Hebron.” 11 Now 200 men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. Since they were invited, they went naively and were unaware of what Absalom was planning.[n] 12 While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser,[o] to come from his city, Giloh.[p] The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 15:1 tn Heb “acquired for himself.”
- 2 Samuel 15:1 tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”
- 2 Samuel 15:2 tn Heb “your servant.” So also in vv. 8, 15, 21.
- 2 Samuel 15:3 tn Heb “good and straight.”
- 2 Samuel 15:4 tn Heb “Who will make me?”
- 2 Samuel 15:4 tn Heb “a complaint and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.
- 2 Samuel 15:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 15:6 tn Heb “stole the heart.”
- 2 Samuel 15:6 tn Heb “the men.”
- 2 Samuel 15:7 tc The MT has here “forty,” but this is presumably a scribal error for “four.” The context will not tolerate a period of forty years prior to the rebellion of Absalom. The Lucianic Greek recension (τέσσαρα ἔτη, tessara etē), the Syriac Peshitta (ʾarbaʿ sanin), and Vulgate (post quattuor autem annos) in fact have the expected reading “four years.” Most English translations follow the versions in reading “four” here, although some (e.g. KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), following the MT, read “forty.”
- 2 Samuel 15:8 tn Heb “for your servant vowed a vow.” The formal court style of referring to one’s self in third person (“your servant”) has been translated here as first person for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 15:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 15:10 tn Heb “say.”
- 2 Samuel 15:11 tn Heb “being invited and going naively and they did not know anything.”
- 2 Samuel 15:12 tn Traditionally, “counselor,” but this term is more often associated with psychological counseling today, so “adviser” was used in the translation instead.
- 2 Samuel 15:12 tn Heb “Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the adviser of David, from his city, from Giloh, while he was sacrificing.” It is not entirely clear who (Absalom or Ahithophel) was offering the sacrifices.
2 Samuel 15:1-12
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.
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