2 Samuel 15
1 After that, Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him.
2 Absalom would rise early and stand beside the road to the gate. Whenever anyone had a case to bring to the king for judgment, Absalom would call him over and ask, “What city are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3 Absalom would say to him, “Look, your case is good and fair, but there is no one from the king’s side to hear you.”
4 Absalom would add, “If only I were judge in this land! Everyone who had a case or a dispute could come to me, and I would see that he received justice.”
5 Whenever someone came near to bow before him, he would reach out, take hold of him, and kiss him.
6 Absalom did this to every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, and Absalom won the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 At the end of forty years, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill the vow I made to the LORD.
8 For your servant made a vow while I was living in Geshur, in Aram: ‘If the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will serve the LORD.’”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he set out and went to Hebron.
10 Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the trumpet, say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’”
11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and went in good faith, knowing nothing about what was happening.
12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser, from his city of Giloh. The conspiracy grew strong, and the people joining Absalom kept growing in number.
13 A messenger came to David and said, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Get up; we must flee, because we will have no escape from Absalom. Hurry and leave, or he may quickly catch up with us, bring disaster on us, and strike the city with the sword.”
15 The king’s servants said to the king, “Your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.”
16 The king set out, and his entire household followed him, but the king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house.
17 The king set out, and all the people followed him. They stopped at the last house.
18 All his servants marched past him, along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites—six hundred men who had followed him from Gath. They marched past the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you going with us too? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.
20 You arrived only yesterday. Should I make you wander with us today, when I myself am going wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May kindness and faithfulness be with you.”
21 Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether in death or in life, there your servant will be.”
22 David said to Ittai, “Go on, march ahead.” So Ittai the Gittite went on, with all his men and all the children who were with him.
23 All the land wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people went on toward the road to the wilderness.
24 Zadok was there too, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of God’s covenant. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 The king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and its dwelling place.
26 “But if he says, ‘I take no pleasure in you,’ then here I am; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan—your two sons with you.
28 Look, I will wait in the wilderness plains until word comes from you to tell me what is happening.”
29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 David went up the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and barefoot. All the people with him had their heads covered, and they went up weeping.
31 David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “LORD, please make Ahithophel’s counsel foolish.”
32 When David reached the summit, where people worshiped God, Hushai the Archite came to meet him, his tunic torn and dirt on his head.
33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.
34 “But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, my king. I was your father’s servant before, and now I will be your servant,’ then you can frustrate Ahithophel’s counsel for me.
35 “Won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Tell them everything you hear from the king’s house.
36 “Their two sons will be there with them: Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son. Send me everything you hear through them.”
37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app