Book of Common Prayer

A song of David.

Ahithophel’s Advice About David

17 Ahithophel also said to Absalom, “Now, let me choose 12,000 men to chase David tonight. ² I will catch him while he is tired and weak. I will frighten him, and all his people will run away. But I will kill only King David. ³ Then I will bring all the people back to you. If David is dead, all the people will come back in peace.”

⁴ This plan seemed good to Absalom and all the leaders of Israel. ⁵ But Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Arkite. I also want to hear what he says.”

Hushai Ruins Ahithophel’s Advice

⁶ Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to Hushai, “This is the plan Ahithophel gave. Should we follow it? If not, tell us.”

⁷ Hushai said to Absalom, “Ahithophel’s advice is not good this time.” ⁸ Hushai added, “You know that your father and his men are strong men. They are as dangerous as a wild bear when something has taken its cubs. Your father is a skilled fighter. He will not stay all night with the people. ⁹ He is probably already hiding in a cave or some other place. If your father attacks your men first, people will hear the news and think, ‘Absalom’s followers are losing!’ ¹⁰ Then even your bravest men will be frightened, because all the Israelites know that your father is a powerful soldier and that his men are very brave.

¹¹ “This is what I suggest: You must gather all the Israelites together from Dan to Beersheba.^[a] Then there will be many people, like the sand by the sea. Then you yourself must go into the battle. ¹² We will catch David wherever he is hiding and attack him with so many soldiers that they will be like the dew that covers the ground. We will kill David and all of his men—no one will be left alive. ¹³ But if David escapes into a city, all the Israelites can bring ropes to that city and pull its walls down into the valley. Not even a small stone will be left in that city.”

¹⁴ Absalom and all the Israelites said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” Actually, Ahithophel’s advice was good, but they said this because the Lord had decided to make Ahithophel’s advice useless. He did this to punish Absalom.

Hushai Sends a Warning to David

¹⁵ Hushai told the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what was said. He told them what Ahithophel suggested to Absalom and the leaders of Israel. Hushai also told them what he himself had suggested. He said, ¹⁶ “Send a message to David now! Tell him not to spend the night at the places where people cross into the desert. Tell him to go across the Jordan River at once. If he crosses the river, the king and all his people will not be caught.”

¹⁷ The priests’ sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, did not want to be seen going into the town, so they waited at En Rogel. A servant girl went out to them and gave them the message. Then Jonathan and Ahimaaz carried the message to King David.

¹⁸ But a boy saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and ran to tell Absalom. Jonathan and Ahimaaz ran away quickly. They arrived at a man’s house in Bahurim. The man had a well in his courtyard.^[b] Jonathan and Ahimaaz went down into this well. ¹⁹ The man’s wife spread a sheet over the mouth of the well and covered it with grain. The well looked like a pile of grain, so no one would know to look there. ²⁰ Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house. They asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

The woman said to Absalom’s servants, “They have already crossed over the brook.”

Absalom’s servants then went to look for Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they could not find them. So Absalom’s servants went back to Jerusalem.

²¹ After Absalom’s servants left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz climbed out of the well and went to King David. They said to David, “Hurry, go across the river. Ahithophel is planning to do something to you.”

²² So David and his people crossed over the Jordan River. By sunrise, all of David’s people had crossed the Jordan River. No one was left behind.

Ahithophel Kills Himself

²³ When Ahithophel saw that the Israelites did not do what he suggested, he saddled his donkey and went back to his hometown. He made plans for his family and then hanged himself. They buried him in his father’s tomb.

⁶ The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.”^{[a] 7} So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. ⁸ The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. These writings said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. God told this Good News to Abraham before it happened. God said to Abraham, “I will use you to bless all the people on earth.”^{[b] 9} Abraham believed this, and because he believed, he was blessed. All people who believe are blessed the same as Abraham was.

¹⁰ But people who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse. As the Scriptures say, “They must do everything that is written in the law. If they do not always obey, they are under a curse.”^{[c] 11} So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “The one who is right with God by faith will live forever.”^[d]

¹² The law does not depend on faith. No, it says that the only way a person will find life by the law is to obey its commands.^{[e] 13} The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree^[f] is under a curse.”^{[g] 14} Because of what Jesus Christ did, the blessing God promised to Abraham was given to all people. Christ died so that by believing in him we could have the Spirit that God promised.

³⁰ “I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told. And my judgment is right, because I am not trying to please myself. I want only to please the one who sent me.

Jesus Says More to the Jewish Leaders

³¹ “If I tell people about myself, they cannot be sure that what I say is true. ³² But there is someone else who tells people about me, and I know that what he says about me is true.

³³ “You sent men to John, and he told you what is true. ³⁴ I don’t need anyone to tell people about me, but I remind you of what John said so that you can be saved. ³⁵ John was like a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were happy to enjoy his light for a while.

³⁶ “But I have a proof about myself that is greater than anything John said. The things I do are my proof. These are what my Father gave me to do. They show that the Father sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has given proof about me himself. But you have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he looks like. ³⁸ The Father’s teaching does not live in you, because you don’t believe in the one the Father sent. ³⁹ You carefully study the Scriptures. You think that they give you eternal life. These same Scriptures tell about me! ⁴⁰ But you refuse to come to me to have that life.

⁴¹ “I don’t want praise from you or any other human. ⁴² But I know you—I know that you have no love for God. ⁴³ I have come from my Father and speak for him, but you don’t accept me. But when other people come speaking only for themselves, you accept them. ⁴⁴ You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? ⁴⁵ Don’t think that I will be the one to stand before the Father and accuse you. Moses is the one to accuse you. And he is the one you hoped would save you. ⁴⁶ If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But you don’t believe what he wrote, so you can’t believe what I say.”