2 Samuel 17

1 Then Ahithophel said to Absalom: “I will choose for myself twelve thousand men, and rising up, I will pursue David this night.

Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.

2 And rushing against him, for he is weary and has weakened hands, I will strike him. And when all the people who are with him will have fled, I will strike down the king in isolation.

I will come on him while he is weary and weak and will surprise him with fear. The people who are with him will flee, and I will attack only the king.

3 And I will lead back the entire people, returning in the manner of one man. For you are seeking only one man. And all the people shall be in peace.”

I will bring back all the people to you, like a bride coming to her husband, and all the people will be at peace under you.”

4 And this word pleased Absalom and all those greater by birth of Israel.

What Ahithophel said pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he also may say.”

Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Arkite, too, and let us hear what he says.”

6 And when Hushai had gone to Absalom, Absalom said to him: “Ahithophel has spoken a word in this manner. Should we do it or not? What counsel do you give?”

When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom explained to him what Ahithophel had said and then asked Hushai, “Should we do what Ahithophel has said? If not, tell us what you advise.”

7 And Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given at this time is not good.”

So Hushai said to Absalom, “The advice that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.”

8 And again Hushai declared, “You know your father, and the men who are with him, to be very strong and bitter in soul, comparable to a bear raging in the forest when her young have been taken away. Moreover, your father is a man of war, and so he will not live among the people.

Hushai added, “You know your father and his men are strong warriors, and that they are bitter, and they are like a bear robbed of her cubs in a field. Your father is a man of war; he will not sleep with the army tonight.

9 Perhaps now he hides in pits, or in another place, wherever he wills. And if by chance, in the beginning, anyone may fall, whoever hears about it, no matter what he has heard, will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who were following Absalom.’

Look, right now he is probably hidden in some pit or in some other place. It will happen that when some of your men have been killed at the beginning of an attack, that whoever hears it will say, 'A slaughter has taken place among the soldiers who follow Absalom.'

10 And even the very strong, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will be weakened out of fear. For all the people of Israel know your father to be a valiant man, and that all who are with him are robust.

Then even the bravest soldiers, whose hearts are like the heart of a lion, will be afraid because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that the men who are with him are very strong.

11 But this seems to me to be the right counsel: Let all of Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand of the sea which is innumerable. And you will be in their midst.

So I advise you that all Israel should be gathered together to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as numerous as the sands that are by the sea, and that you go to battle in person.

12 And we shall rush against him in whatever place he will have been found. And we shall cover him, as the dew usually falls upon the ground. And we shall not leave behind even one of the men who are with him.

Then we will come on him wherever he may be found, and we will cover him as the dew falls on the ground. We will not leave even one of his men, or him himself, alive.

13 And if he will enter into any city, all of Israel shall encircle that city with ropes. And we will pull it into the torrent, so that there may not be found even one small stone from it.”

If he retreats into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city and we will drag it into the river, until there is no longer even a small stone found there.”

14 And Absalom, with all the men of Israel, said: “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” So, by an act of the Lord, the useful counsel of Ahithophel was defeated, in order that the Lord might lead evil over Absalom.

Then Absalom and the men of Israel said, “Hushai the Arkite's advice is better than Ahithophel's.” Yahweh had ordained the rejection of Ahithophel's good advice in order to bring destruction on Absalom.

15 And Hushai said to the priests, Zadok and Abiathar: “Ahithophel gave counsel to Absalom and to the elders of Israel in this and that manner. And I gave counsel in such and such a manner.

Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel in such and such a way, but I have advised something else.

16 Now therefore, send quickly, and report to David, saying: ‘You shall not stay this night in the plains of the desert. Instead, without delay, go across. Otherwise the king may be engulfed, and all the people who are with him.’”

Now then, go quickly and report to David; say to him, 'Do not camp tonight at the fords of the Arabah, but by all means cross over, or the king will be swallowed up along with all the people who are with him.'”

17 But Jonathan and Ahimaaz remained beside the Fountain of Rogel. And a handmaid went away and reported it to them. And they set out, so that they might carry the report to king David. For they could not be seen, nor enter into the city.

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at the spring of Rogel. A female servant used to go and inform them what they needed to know, for they could not risk being seen going into the city. When the message came, then they were to go and tell King David.

18 But a certain young man saw them, and he revealed it to Absalom. Yet truly, they traveled quickly and entered into the house of a certain man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they descended into it.

But a young man saw them this time and told Absalom. So Jonathan and Ahimaaz went away quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, into which they descended.

19 Then a woman took and spread a covering over the mouth of the well, as if drying hulled barley. And so the matter was hidden.

The man's wife took the covering for the well and spread it over the well's opening, and tossed grain over it, so no one knew Jonathan and Ahimaaz were in the well.

20 And when the servants of Absalom had entered into the house, they said to the woman, “Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman responded to them, “They passed through hurriedly, after they had taken a little water.” But those who were seeking them, when they had not found them, returned to Jerusalem.

Absalom's men came to the woman of the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman told them, “They have crossed over the river.” So after they had looked around and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 And when they had gone, they ascended from the well. And traveling, they reported to king David, and they said: “Rise up, and go across the river quickly. For Ahithophel has given a counsel of this kind against you.”

It came about after they had left that Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well. They went to report to King David; they said to him, “Get up and cross quickly over the water because Ahithophel has given such and such advice about you.”

22 Therefore, David rose up, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed over the Jordan, until first light. And not even one of them was left behind who had not crossed over the river.

Then David arose and all the people who were with him, and they crossed over the Jordan. By morning daylight not one of them had failed to cross over the Jordan.

23 Then Ahithophel, seeing that his counsel had not been done, saddled his donkey, and he rose up and went away to his own house and to his own city. And putting his house in order, he killed himself by hanging. And he was buried in the sepulcher of his father.

When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and left. He went home to his own city, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. In this way he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

24 Then David went to the encampment, and Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

Then David came to Mahanaim. As for Absalom, he crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

25 Truly, Absalom appointed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. Now Amasa was the son of a man who was called Ithra of Jezrael, who entered to Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruiah, who was the mother of Joab.

Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether the Ishmaelite, who had slept with Abigail, who was the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab.

26 And Israel made camp with Absalom in the land of Gilead.

Then Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

27 And when David had arrived at the encampment, Shobi, the son of Nahash, from Rabbah, of the sons of Ammon, and Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite of Rogelim,

It came about when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,

28 brought to him bedding, and tapestries, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and cooked grain, and beans, and lentils, and fried chick peas,

brought sleeping mats and blankets, bowls and pots, and wheat, barley flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

29 and honey, and butter, sheep and fattened calves. And they gave these to David and to the people who were with him to eat. For they suspected that the people were faint with hunger and thirst in the desert.

honey, butter, sheep, and milk curds, so that David and the people with him could eat. These men had said, “The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.”