¹¹ And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how ^(A)my son who ^(B)came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him.

^21 (A)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

²⁵ “Therefore ^(A)I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;

⁹ “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord ^(A)have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

^21 (A)Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^(B)shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.

³⁷ Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons ^(A)Adrammelech and Sharezer ^(B)struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then ^(C)Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai

17 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. ² I will come upon him while he is ^(A)weary and weak, and make him ^[a]afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will ^(B)strike only the king. ³ Then I will bring back all the people to you. When all return except the man whom you seek, all the people will be at peace.” ⁴ And the saying pleased Absalom and all the ^(C)elders of Israel.

¹¹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will ^(A)take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly, ^(B)but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”