Book of Common Prayer

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.

The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

Hushai’s Counsel

17 Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight. ^2 (A)I will come upon him while he is weary and ^[a]exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then ^(B)I will strike down the king alone, ³ and I will bring back all the people to you. ^[b]The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; then all the people will be at ^(C)peace.” ⁴ So the ^[c]plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵ Then Absalom said, “Now call ^(D)Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what ^[d]he has to say.” ⁶ When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to ^[e]him, “Ahithophel has spoken ^[f]thus. Shall we ^[g]carry out his plan? If not, you speak.” ⁷ So Hushai said to Absalom, “^(E)This time the advice that Ahithophel has ^[h]given is not good.” ⁸ Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are ^[i]fierce, ^(F)like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an ^[j]expert in warfare, and will not spend the night with the people. ⁹ Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the ^[k]caves or in another place; and it will be ^[l]when he falls on them at the first attack, that 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 ^[m]lose heart; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. ¹¹ But I counsel that all Israel be surely gathered to you, ^(H)from Dan even to Beersheba, ^(I)as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that ^[n]you personally go into battle. ¹² So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will ^[o]fall on him ^(J)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 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will ^(K)drag it into the ^[p]valley until not even a small stone is found there.” ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For ^(L)the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

¹⁵ Then ^(M)Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “^[q]This is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and ^[r]this is what I have counseled. ¹⁶ Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘^(N)Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be ^[s]destroyed.’” ^17 (O)Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at ^(P)En-rogel, and a maidservant would go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city. ¹⁸ But a lad did see them and told Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man ^(Q)in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down ^[t]into it. ¹⁹ And ^(R)the woman ^[u]took a covering and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered grain 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 could 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 told King David; and they said to David, “^(T)Arise and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you.” ²² Then David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed the Jordan; and by ^[v]dawn not even one remained who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³ Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not ^[w]followed, he ^[x]saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to ^(U)his city, and ^[y](V)set his house in order, and ^(W)strangled himself; thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.

^6 [a]Even so ^(A)Abraham ^(B)believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ⁷ Therefore, ^[b]be sure that ^(C)it is those who are of faith who are ^(D)sons of Abraham. ⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God ^[c]would justify the ^[d]Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “^(E)All the nations will be blessed in you.” ⁹ So then ^(F)those who are of faith are blessed with ^[e]Abraham, the believer.

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of ^[f]the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “^(G)Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” ¹¹ Now that ^(H)no one is justified ^[g]by ^[h]the Law before God is evident; for, “^[i](I)The righteous man shall live by faith.” ^12 [j]However, the Law is not ^[k]of faith; on the contrary, “^(J)He who practices them shall live ^[l]by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(K)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “^(L)Cursed is everyone who hangs on ^(M)a ^[m]tree”— ¹⁴ in order that ^(N)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^[n]come to the Gentiles, so that we ^(O)would receive ^(P)the promise of the Spirit through faith.

³⁰ “^(A)I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and ^(B)My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but ^(C)the will of Him who sent Me.

³¹ “^(D)If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not ^[a]true. ³² There is ^(E)another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

Witness of John

³³ You have sent to John, and he ^(F)has testified to the truth. ³⁴ But ^(G)the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was ^(H)the lamp that was burning and was shining and you ^(I)were willing to rejoice for ^[b]a while in his light.

Witness of Works

³⁶ But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for ^(J)the works which the Father has given Me ^(K)to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father ^(L)has sent Me.

Witness of the Father

³⁷ And the Father who sent Me, ^(M)He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. ³⁸ You do not have ^(N)His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He ^(O)sent.

Witness of the Scripture

^39 [c](P)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is ^(Q)these that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. ^41 (R)I do not receive glory from men; ⁴² but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. ⁴³ I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; ^(S)if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you ^(T)receive ^[d]glory from one another and you do not seek ^(U)the ^[e]glory that is from ^(V)the one and only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is ^(W)Moses, in whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for ^(X)he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But ^(Y)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”