2 Samuel 15-16

Amplified Bible

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 After this, Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men as runners before him. ²He would get up early and stand beside the road to the gate [of the city, where court was held]; and when any man who had a dispute came to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man appointed as the king’s agent to listen to you.” ⁴Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were appointed judge in the land! Then every man who had a dispute could come to me and I would get justice for him.” ⁵And whenever a man approached to bow down before him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶This is how Absalom dealt with everyone in Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷And after ^[a]four years, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord at ^[b]Hebron [my birthplace]. ⁸For your servant made a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram (Syria), ‘If the Lord will in fact bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord [by offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving].’” ⁹And [David] the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹Then two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited [as guests to his sacrificial feast] went with Absalom. They went innocently and knew nothing [about his plan against David]. ¹²And Absalom sent for ^[c]Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom increased continually.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³Then a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” ¹⁴David said to all his ^[d]servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, let us flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom! Go in haste, or he will overtake us quickly and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵The king’s servants said to him, “Listen, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” ¹⁶So the king left, and all his household ^[e]with him. But the king left behind ten women who were ^[f]concubines to take care of the house (palace).^(A) ¹⁷The king left, and all the people with him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸All of David’s ^[g]servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites, Pelethites and the Gittites, six hundred men who had come with him from Gath, passed on before the king.

¹⁹Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you go with us, too? Go back and stay with the king [of your own country], for you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place. ²⁰You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today while I go where I will? Return and take your brothers back with you also. May lovingkindness and faithfulness be with you.” ²¹But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, most certainly wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or life, there will your servant be also.” ²²So David said to Ittai, “Go on and cross over [the Brook Kidron].” So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people crossed over. The king also crossed the Brook Kidron, and all the people went on toward the way of the wilderness [that lies between Jerusalem and the Jordan River].

²⁴Now Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar [the priest] came up [and officiated] until all the people had finished passing from the city. ²⁵Then the king told Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to [its rightful place in] the city [of Jerusalem, the capital]. If I find favor in the Lord’s sight, He will bring me back again and let me see both it and His dwelling place (habitation). ²⁶But if He should say, ‘I have no delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him.” ²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace [you and Abiathar], and your two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, I am going to wait at the ^[h]fords [of the Jordan] in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar brought the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they stayed there.

³⁰And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot [in despair]. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹David was told, “Ahithophel [your counselor] is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “O Lord, I pray You, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

³²It happened when David came to the summit [of the Mount of Olives], where he worshiped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his tunic torn and dust on his head [as if in mourning]. ³³David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But 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 I will be your servant now;’ then you can thwart (make useless) the advice of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that every word you hear from the king’s palace, you shall report it to them. ³⁶Their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send to me everything that you hear.” ³⁷So Hushai, David’s friend, returned to the city, and [at about the same time] Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Ziba, a False Servant

16 When David was a little past the summit [of the Mount of Olives], behold, Ziba, the servant of ^[i]Mephibosheth, met him with a team of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a ^[j]jug of wine. ²The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household (family) to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine is for anyone to drink who becomes weary in the wilderness.” ³Then the king said, “And where is your ^[k]master’s son [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 ^[l]father.’” ⁴Then the king said to Ziba, “^[m]Behold, everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is [now] yours.” Ziba said, “I bow down [in honor and gratitude]; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord the king.”

David Is Cursed

⁵When King David came to Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there. He was of the family of Saul’s household and he was cursing continually as he came out. ⁶He threw stones at David and at all the ^[n]servants of King David; yet all the people and all the warriors remained on his right and on his left. ⁷This is what Shimei said as he cursed: “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, you worthless and useless man! ⁸The Lord has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of Absalom your son. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

⁹Then Abishai [David’s nephew], the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog (despicable person) curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” ¹⁰But the king said, “^[o]What business is this of yours, O sons of Zeruiah? If Shimei is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son [Absalom] who came from my own body, is seeking my life; how much more [reason] now [does] this Benjamite [have to curse me]? Let him alone and let him curse, for [it could be that] the Lord has told him [to do it]. ¹²Perhaps the Lord will look on the wrong done to me [by Shimei, if he is acting on his own]; and [in that case perhaps] the Lord will this day return good to me in place of his cursing.” ¹³So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei went along on the hillside close beside David and cursed as he went and threw stones and dust at him. ¹⁴The king and all the people who were with him arrived [at the Jordan River] weary, and he refreshed himself there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

¹⁵Then Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶Now it happened when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whomever the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen [as king], I will be his, and I will remain with him. ¹⁹Besides, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of David’s son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I shall serve in your presence.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?” ²¹Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s ^[p]concubines, whom he has left behind to take care of the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened [by your boldness and audacity].” ²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof [of the king’s palace], and ^[q]Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.^(B) ²³The advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man had consulted the word of God; that is how all Ahithophel’s counsel was regarded by both David and Absalom.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 15:7 The Hebrew text reads “forty years.” The LXX, Syriac, and writings of Josephus read “four years.” Absalom would be about thirty years old at this time.
2 Samuel 15:7 David had moved the capital from Hebron to Jerusalem, but Hebron was still an important city.
2 Samuel 15:12 Ahithophel, one of David’s wisest and most trusted advisers, was the father of Eliam, Bathsheba’s father. Ahithophel’s alliance with Absalom may have been an act of revenge motivated by David’s sin against his granddaughter and her murdered husband.
2 Samuel 15:14 This would have included various officials, guards, staff, and other members of David’s court and household.
2 Samuel 15:16 Lit at his feet.
2 Samuel 15:16 See note Gen 22:24.
2 Samuel 15:18 See note v 14.
2 Samuel 15:28 I.e. narrow or shallow places where a river may be crossed by wading.
2 Samuel 16:1 The lame son of Jonathan who was the son of King Saul.
2 Samuel 16:1 This was a bag made from almost the entire skin of an animal. New wine was always put in a new bag so that the bag would stretch as the wine continued to ferment, and then the bag would harden.
2 Samuel 16:3 I.e. Saul’s grandson.
2 Samuel 16:3 The reference is to his dead grandfather, King Saul.
2 Samuel 16:4 Because the rebellion was in progress it was easy for Ziba to trick David with the gifts and his lie.
2 Samuel 16:6 See note 15:14.
2 Samuel 16:10 Lit What to me and to you.
2 Samuel 16:21 See note Gen 22:24.
2 Samuel 16:22 This outrageous act was an assumption of absolute power, and signified an irreversible break in Absalom’s relationship with his father. Nathan the prophet had prophesied that David would be publicly humiliated in this way.