| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him. | 1After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. |
| 2He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,” | 2He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. |
| 3Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has no deputy to hear you.” | 3Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. |
| 4And he would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land, then everyone with a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would give him justice.” | 4I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!” |
| 5Also, when anyone approached to bow down to him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him. | 5When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. |
| 6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. | 6Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. |
| 7After four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD. | 7After four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and fulfill a vow I made to him. |
| 8For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’ ” | 8For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.” |
| 9“Go in peace,” said the king. So Absalom got up and went to Hebron. | 9“All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.” So Absalom went to Hebron. |
| 10Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ ” | 10But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’” |
| 11Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter. | 11He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. |
| 12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing. | 12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. David Escapes from Jerusalem |
| 13Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” | 13A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!” |
| 14And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.” | 14“Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.” |
| 15The king’s servants replied, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.” | 15“We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.” |
| 16Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace. | 16So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. |
| 17So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house, | 17The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house |
| 18and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath. | 18to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard. |
| 19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. | 19Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, “Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. |
| 20In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.” | 20You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness. ” |
| 21But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!” | 21But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.” |
| 22“March on then,” said David to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. | 22David replied, “All right, come with us.” So Ittai and all his men and their families went along. |
| 23Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness. | 23Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness. |
| 24Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had passed out of the city. | 24Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until everyone had passed out of the city. |
| 25Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again. | 25Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the LORD sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. |
| 26But if He should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.” | 26But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.” |
| 27The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan. | 27The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. |
| 28See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” | 28I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you.” |
| 29So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there. | 29So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there. |
| 30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. | 30David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill. |
| 31Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” | 31When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O LORD, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!” |
| 32When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. | 32When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. |
| 33David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. | 33But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. |
| 34But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’ | 34Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. |
| 35Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace. | 35Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace, |
| 36Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.” | 36and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.” |
| 37So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city. | 37So David’s friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived. |
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