Old/New Testament
David’s Experience with His Adversaries
16 Now just as David happened to have passed the summit of the Mount of Olives,[a] suddenly Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba met him, accompanied by a couple of saddled donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 pieces of summer fruit, and a skin of wine! 2 The king asked Ziba, “What are those for?”
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for your young men to eat, and the wine is for whoever wants to drink if they get weary in the wilderness.”
3 Then the king asked, “Where is your master’s son?”
“He’s staying in Jerusalem!” Ziba answered the king. “He’s saying ‘The nation[b] of Israel will restore my father’s kingdom to me today!’”
4 So the king told Ziba, “Pay attention! Everything that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!”
In response Ziba said, “I’m submitting to you. Let me find favor in your sight, your majesty the king!”
Shimei Curses David
5 Later on, as King David approached Bahurim, Gera’s son Shimei, who was related to the family of Saul’s household, went out to meet David,[c] cursing continually as he approached. 6 He threw rocks at David and all of David’s staff who were accompanying him, while all the rest of the entourage, including all of David’s security detail, were close by him.[d] 7 “Get out of here![e] Get out!” Shimei yelled as he cursed. “You murderer! You who think you’re above the law![f] 8 The Lord has repaid you personally for murdering the entire dynasty of Saul, whose place you’ve taken to reign! And the Lord has given the kingdom into your son Absalom’s control. Now look! Your own evil has caught up with you, because you’re guilty of murder!”
9 At this point, Zeruiah’s son Abishai asked the king, “Why should this dead dog be cursing your majesty the king? May I have permission to go over and cut off his head?”
10 But the king responded, “What do I have in common with you sons of Zeruiah? If he continues to curse—and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David!’—then who are you to be demanding to know[g] ‘Why have you done this?’”
11 So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: “Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the Lord has ordered him to do this.[h] 12 Perhaps the Lord will take note of my troubles and return good to me instead of curses today!”
13 So David and his entourage went on their way, and Shimei walked along the hillside with him, cursing, throwing rocks, and tossing dirt at David[i] as they went along. 14 Eventually, the king and his entourage arrived exhausted at their destination, and David[j] refreshed himself there.
Absalom Captures Jerusalem
15 Right about then, Absalom and his entourage from the people of Israel entered Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. 16 When David’s friend Hushai the Archite approached Absalom, Hushai greeted Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 But Absalom asked Hushai, “So this is how you demonstrate your loyalty[k] to your closest friends? Why didn’t you leave with your friend?”
18 Hushai replied, “No! On the contrary, whomever the Lord, this group, and all the men of Israel choose is where I’ll be, and I’ll remain with him! 19 Besides, who else should I be serving? Why not the son? The same way I served your father, I’ll serve you.”[l]
Ahithophel Counsels Absalom
20 So Absalom asked Ahithophel, “What’s your advice? What should we do?”
21 Ahithophel responded, “Go inside and have sex with your father’s mistresses[m], whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act.” 22 So they erected a tent for Absalom on the palace roof and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s mistresses right in front of all Israel.
Ahithophel Tries to Crush David’s Supporters
23 Now Ahithophel’s advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel’s counsel by both David and Absalom. 17 1 “Give me 12,000 men! I’ll leave[n] tonight and pursue David,” Ahithophel advised Absalom. 2 “I’ll catch him while he is still tired and weak.[o] I’ll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I’ll only kill the king. 3 Then I’ll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you’re looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly.”
4 Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, 5 Absalom replied, “Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!” 6 When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, “Here’s what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!”
Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice
7 “Ahithophel’s advice is not best at this time,” Hushai suggested to Absalom. 8 “You know how strong your father and his men are. They’re as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won’t stay with his army at night. 9 Look! He’s probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, ‘Absalom’s army is losing!’ 10 Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! 11 So here’s my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other![p] You’ll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you’ll go into battle! 12 We’ll go find David wherever he’s hiding. We’ll fall on him like dew on the ground! We’ll kill him and all of his men, and we won’t leave even one man alive! 13 If he escapes into a city, we’ll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won’t leave a single stone left in the valley!”
14 Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s!”
Hushai Warns David
But the Lord had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the Lord could bring Absalom to destruction. 15 So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, 16 “Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage[q] will survive.”
17 Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. 18 But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. 19 The man’s wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place.[r]
20 When Absalom’s servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
“They’ve already crossed the brook,” the woman answered. So Absalom’s servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn’t find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, “Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you…” 22 So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River.[s] Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn’s first light.
Ahithophel’s Suicide
23 Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged[t] himself. After his death he was buried in his father’s tomb.
David Receives Supplies in the Wilderness
24 Later, David arrived at Mahanaim. Absalom and all of the Israelis who supported him crossed the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had installed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. His mother was Abigail, a daughter of Nahash and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.) 26 Absalom and the Israelis with him[u] camped in the territory of Gilead. 27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi (Nahash’s son from the Ammonite town of Rabbah), Makir (Ammiel’s son from Lo-debar), and Barzillai (from Rogelim in Gilead) were already there. 28 They brought along bedding, bowls, clay basins, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grains, beans, peas, 29 honey, cheeses,[v] sheep, and cheese made from cow’s milk for David and his entourage because they had been reasoning, “The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the wilderness.”
The Battle Begins
18 David mustered his forces and appointed officers in charge of regiments and companies.[w] 2 Dividing his forces into three groups, he set Joab as commander of one third of his army, Zeruiah’s son Abishai, Joab’s brother, as commander of another third, and Ittai from Gath as commander of another third. The king informed the army, “I’m going out to battle[x] with you, too.”
3 “No way!” his army responded. “If we have to retreat from the battle, Absalom’s men won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care about us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. The best thing you can do for us is to remain in the city.”
4 So David responded, “I’ll do what you think best.” Then he stood alongside the city gate as the army went out in battle array by hundreds and thousands. 5 As they were going out, the king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for my sake.” Everyone heard what the king had ordered his commanders about Absalom.
6 David’s army left for the battlefield to fight Absalom and his Israeli followers, and they also fought in the Ephraim forest, 7 where David’s army of servants defeated the Israelis. Many died that day—20,000 men. 8 The battle spread throughout the entire countryside, and the forest claimed more casualties that day than did the sword fighting.
Joab Kills Absalom
9 Absalom happened to run into David’s soldiers. While Absalom was trying to get away on his mule, it ran under the thick branches of a giant oak tree, and Absalom’s head got caught in the tree! As his mule ran out from under him, Absalom was left hanging above the ground. 10 When one of the soldiers saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I saw Absalom stuck in an oak tree!”
11 Joab asked the man who was reporting to him, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you kill him right then and there? I would’ve given you ten pieces[y] of silver and a warrior’s sash!”[z]
12 But the soldier replied to Joab, “I wouldn’t have touched the king’s son even if you dropped 1,000 pieces[aa] of silver right into my hands, because we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Watch how you treat the young man Absalom!’ 13 If I had taken his life,[ab] the king would have uncovered everything about it, and you would never have protected me!”
14 “There’s no reason to wait for you!” Joab retorted. Then he took three spears[ac] in his hand and stabbed Absalom in the heart while he was still alive, dangling from the branches of[ad] the oak tree. 15 Ten young men who served as Joab’s personal assistants then surrounded Absalom, striking him repeatedly and killing him. 16 At this, Joab sounded his battle trumpet and his troops stopped pursuing the other[ae] Israelis. 17 Meanwhile, Joab’s army grabbed Absalom’s body, tossed it into a large pit in the forest, and filled it up with a huge pile of rocks. Then the Israelis ran away back to their homes.
18 While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument[af] to himself in King’s Valley because he had been telling himself, “I don’t have a son to carry on my family name.”[ag] So he named the pillar after himself—it’s called Absalom’s Monument even today.
David Learns of Absalom’s Death
19 Zadok’s son Ahimaaz told Joab, “Let me run over to King David and take him the news. I’ll mention that the Lord has delivered him from his enemies.”
20 But Joab answered Ahimaaz, “You’re not the man to deliver news today. Do it any other time, but not today, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 So Joab ordered a man from Ethiopia,[ah] “Go tell the king what you’ve seen.” So the Ethiopian[ai] saluted[aj] Joab and then ran to tell David.
22 “Please,” Zadok’s son Ahimaaz continued, “No matter what happens, let me follow the Ethiopian!”
Joab asked him, “Why this request[ak] to run, my son? There’s no reward in it for you.”
23 “No matter what, I’m running,” Ahimaaz replied.[al]
So Joab told Ahimaaz, “Run!” And Ahimaaz ran, taking the Jordan Valley road, passing the Ethiopian.
24 Meanwhile, David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the city. The watchman was up on the roof of the gateway near the walls, looking around, and there was a man running by himself! 25 So the watchman[am] called out his news to the king.
The king responded, “If he’s alone, he’s bringing some news to report.”[an] As the man continued to draw near and approach the palace,[ao] 26 the watchman observed another man running. So he called out to the gatekeeper, “There’s another[ap] man running by himself!”
The king replied, “He’s also bringing some news to report!”
27 Then the watchman observed, “It looks to me that the runner out in front is running like Zadok’s son Ahimaaz!”
The king replied, “This is a good man bearing good news!”
28 “Everything’s fine!”[aq] Ahimaaz announced to the king. He bowed low with his face to the ground[ar] before the king and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has handed over the men who rebelled against your majesty the king.”
29 “Are things fine[as] with respect to the young man Absalom?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion about the time Joab was getting ready to send the king’s courier and me, your servant, but I’m not sure what was going on.”[at]
30 The king replied, “Stand here at attention and wait.” So he stepped to the side and stood there waiting.
31 Just then the Ethiopian arrived. He[au] reported, “Good news, your majesty the king! The Lord has delivered you from the control of everyone who rebelled against you!”
32 The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is the young man safe?”
The Ethiopian answered, “May the enemies of your majesty the king—including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you—become like that young man….”
David Mourns for Absalom
33 [av]Deeply shaken, the king went up to the chamber overlooking the city gate, weeping bitterly and crying out as he went along, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!”
The Coming of the Kingdom(A)
20 Once Jesus[a] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display. 21 People[b] won’t be saying, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because now the kingdom of God is among[c] you.”
22 Then Jesus[d] told the disciples, “The time will come during which you will long to see one of these days when the Son of Man is with you,[e] but you won’t see it. 23 People[f] will say to you, ‘Look! There he is!’ or ‘Look! Here he is!’ But don’t go and chase after him. 24 Because just as lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his time.[g] 25 But first he must suffer a great deal and be rejected by those living today.[h]
26 “Just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be in the Son of Man’s time. 27 People[i] were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 So it was in Lot’s time. People[j] were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But on the very day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them. 30 The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.
31 “The person who is on the housetop that day must not come down to get his belongings out of his house. The person in the field, too, must not turn back to what’s left behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to save his life[k] will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, two will be seated on the same couch[l] that night. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind. 35 Two women will be grinding grain[m] together. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind.”[n]
37 Then they asked him, “Where, Lord, will this take place?”[o]
He told them, “Wherever there’s a corpse, that’s where the vultures[p] will gather.”
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