2S 15:1And after this Absalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men to run before him.
2S 15:2And Absalom would rise up early and stand beside the way into the gate; and when any man who had a cause that should have come to the king for judgment came, Absalom would call to him and say, What city are you from? And he would say, Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.
2S 15:3Then Absalom would say to him, See, your matters are good and right, but there is no one appointed by the king to hear you.
2S 15:4And Absalom would say, Oh that I were made a judge in the land, that every man who had a cause or a matter to be judged would come to me, and I would do him justice!
2S 15:5And so when any man came near to pay him homage, he would put forth his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.
2S 15:6And Absalom acted in this way to all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment. And Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
2S 15:7And at the end of four years Absalom said to the king, Let me go now and repay my vow, which I vowed to Jehovah in Hebron.
2S 15:8For your servant vowed a vow while I was dwelling in Geshur in Syria, saying, If Jehovah will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, I will worship Jehovah.
2S 15:9And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he rose up and went to Hebron.
2S 15:10But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, When you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, Absalom is king in Hebron.
2S 15:11And with Absalom there went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who had been called and went innocently; they did not know anything.
2S 15:12And while he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, a counselor of David, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy gained strength, and the people with Absalom increased continually.
2S 15:13Then a messenger came to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.
2S 15:14And David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Rise up, and let us flee; for none of us will escape from Absalom otherwise. Hurry and go, lest he quickly overtake us and bring harm down upon us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.
2S 15:15And the king’s servants said to the king, In all that my lord the king chooses, here we are, your servants.
2S 15:16So the king went forth, and all his house after him. But the king left ten concubines to keep the house.
2S 15:17And the king went forth, and all the people after him; and they stopped at the last house.
2S 15:18And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
2S 15:19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you also going with us? Return and abide with the king, for you are a foreigner as well as an exile from your place.
2S 15:20You came just recently, so should I today make you wander with us, while I go about wherever I can? Return and take your brothers back; lovingkindness and truth be with you.
2S 15:21But Ittai answered the king and said, As Jehovah lives and as my lord the king lives, in whatever place my lord the king will be, whether for death or for life, there shall your servant most certainly be.
2S 15:22And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones with him passed over.
2S 15:23And all the land wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. And the king passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness.
2S 15:24And there came Zadok also and all the Levites with him, bearing the Ark of the Covenant of God; and they set the Ark of God down, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished passing over from the city.
2S 15:25Then the king said to Zadok, Take the Ark of God back into the city. If I should find favor in the sight of Jehovah, He will bring me back and show me it and His habitation.
2S 15:26But if He should say thus, I am not pleased with you, let Him then do with me as it seems good in His sight.
2S 15:27And the king said to Zadok the priest, You are a seer; return to the city in peace with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.
2S 15:28See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.
2S 15:29So Zadok and Abiathar brought the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
2S 15:30And David went up the ascent to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up, and he had his head covered and he went barefoot. And all the people who were with him each covered his own head; and they went up, weeping as they went up.
2S 15:31Then someone told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, Turn, I pray, the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness, O Jehovah.
2S 15:32Then when David came to the summit, where God was worshipped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and with earth on his head.
2S 15:33And David said to him, If you pass over with me, you will be a burden to me.
2S 15:34But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I am your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant in the past, so will I be your servant now; then you will defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.
2S 15:35And will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you there? Therefore whatever you hear from the king’s house you shall tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
2S 15:36And there with them will be their two sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; and through them you shall send to me whatever you hear.
2S 15:37So Hushai, David’s friend, came to the city; and Absalom came to Jerusalem.
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