Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Now David [was] told, "Ahithophel [was] among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh."

but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had come to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel [was] with him.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your advice. What shall we do?" And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go to the concubines of your father whom he left behind to watch over the house, then all of Israel will hear that you made yourself odious to your father, and {all of your followers will be motivated}!" Then they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he went [in] to the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel. read more.
The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days [was] regarded as when a man inquired of the word of God, so all the counsel of Ahithophel [was esteemed] both by David and by Absalom.

Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Please let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue after David {tonight}. I will come upon him while he [is] weary and {weak}. I will startle him, and all of the people who [are] with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king [while] he [is] alone. Then I will return all the people to you; when all have returned, the man whom you [are] seeking [will be dead], but all the people will be safe." read more.
The word [was] right in the eyes of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, "Please call also for Hushai the Arkite, and let us hear {what he has to say} also." So Hushai came to Absalom, who said to him, "Shall we do according to this word [that] Ahithophel has spoken? If not, then you tell [us]." Then Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel gave [is] not good {at this time}." Hushai continued, "You know your father and his men, that they [are] mighty warriors and they {are enraged} as a bear robbed of [her] offspring in the field. Your father [is] a man of war, so he will not spend the night with the troops. Now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in one of the places. At the moment he falls on them the first time, {whoever hears} the report will say, 'There has been a defeat among the people who follow after Absalom.' And he [is] also a {valiant warrior}, whose heart [is] like the heart of the lion. He will {certainly melt} with fear, for all Israel knows that your father [is] a mighty warrior and [those] who [are] with him [are] {valiant warriors}. I give the advice that all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba should be completely gathered to you, as the sand which [is] on the seashore for abundance, with {you personally} going into the battle. Then we will come to him in one of the places where he may be found, and we shall come upon him as the dew falls on the ground. He and all the men who are with him will not survive, [not] even one! [Even] if he withdraws to a city, all Israel will bring up ropes to that city, and they will drag him away to the valley until there [is] not even a pebble to be found." Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite [is] better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom). Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, "{Thus and so} Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, but {thus and so} I have advised. So then, send quickly and tell David, 'Don't spend the night at the fords of the wilderness! Moreover, by all means cross over lest the king and all the people who [are] with him be swallowed up.'" Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [were] staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they [were] not able to be seen coming to the city. But a young man saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim. Now he had a well in his courtyard, so they went down there. Then the woman took and spread a covering over the opening of the well; then she spread out dried grain on it, so nothing was discovered. When the servants of Absalom came to the woman [at] the house, they said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And she said to them, "They crossed over the brook of water." So they searched but could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. After they left, they came up from the well and went and told King David. They said to David, "Set out and cross over the water quickly, for thus Ahithophel has advised against you." So David and all the people who [were] with him set out, and they crossed over the Jordan until morning light until {there was no one} missing who had not crossed over the Jordan. When Ahithophel saw that his advice [was] not followed, he saddled the donkey, and he set out and went up to his house in his city. {After he set his house in order}, he hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.


Then the messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom." Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!" Then the servants of the king said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king chooses, {your servants are ready to act}!" read more.
The king went out with all his household {following him}, but the king left behind ten concubines to look after the house. So the king went out with all the people {following him}, and they stopped {at the last house}. All his servants [were] passing {by him}: all of the Kerethites and all of the Pelethites and all of the Gittites--six hundred men {who had followed him} from Gath--passing {before the king}. The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why [are] you also coming with us? Return and stay with the king, for you [are] a foreigner; moreover, you [are] an exile. {You [are] far from your place}. Yesterday when you came and {today}, I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I [am] going to where I [am] going; return and let your brothers return. [May] loyal love and faithfulness [be] with you." But Ittai answered the king and said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {my lord the king lives}, surely in the place wherever my lord the king shall be, if for death or if for life, surely there your servant will be." Then David said to Ittai, "Go and pass over." So Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men and all of the little children who [were] with him. All of the land [was] weeping [with] a loud voice as all the people [were] passing by and the king [was] crossing through the Wadi Kidron, and all the people [were] passing {on the road to the wilderness}. Suddenly Zadok [was] there, and all of the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people passed out of the city. The king said to Zadok, "Let the ark of God return to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yawheh, he will let me return and let me see him in his dwelling place. But if he says, 'I take no pleasure in you,' then {I am ready}. Let him do to me that which [is] good in his eyes. Then the king said to Zadok the priest, "[Are] you a seer? Return to the city in peace, [with] Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you. See, I [am] waiting at the fords of the wilderness until a word comes from you all to inform me." So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and they remained there. Now David [was] going up on the Ascent of the Olives, {weeping as he went}, with his head covered and going barefoot. All the people who [were] with him each covered their head {and wept as they went}. Now David [was] told, "Ahithophel [was] among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh." It happened that as David [was] coming up to the summit where he used to worship God, suddenly Hushai the Arkite [was] there to meet him. His coat [was] torn and dirt [was] on his head. David said to him, "If you move on with me, you will be a burden to me, but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me. [Will] not Zadok and Abiathar the priests [be] with you there? It shall be that all the words you hear from the house of the king you shall tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Look, there with them [are] their two sons, Ahimaaz of Zadok and Jonathan of Abiathar. You shall send to me {by means of them} all the words that you hear." So Hushai the friend of David came to the city [as] Absalom was entering Jerusalem.


Suddenly Zadok [was] there, and all of the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people passed out of the city. The king said to Zadok, "Let the ark of God return to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yawheh, he will let me return and let me see him in his dwelling place. But if he says, 'I take no pleasure in you,' then {I am ready}. Let him do to me that which [is] good in his eyes. read more.
Then the king said to Zadok the priest, "[Are] you a seer? Return to the city in peace, [with] Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you. See, I [am] waiting at the fords of the wilderness until a word comes from you all to inform me." So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and they remained there. Now David [was] going up on the Ascent of the Olives, {weeping as he went}, with his head covered and going barefoot. All the people who [were] with him each covered their head {and wept as they went}. Now David [was] told, "Ahithophel [was] among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh." It happened that as David [was] coming up to the summit where he used to worship God, suddenly Hushai the Arkite [was] there to meet him. His coat [was] torn and dirt [was] on his head. David said to him, "If you move on with me, you will be a burden to me, but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me. [Will] not Zadok and Abiathar the priests [be] with you there? It shall be that all the words you hear from the house of the king you shall tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Look, there with them [are] their two sons, Ahimaaz of Zadok and Jonathan of Abiathar. You shall send to me {by means of them} all the words that you hear."

Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, "{Thus and so} Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, but {thus and so} I have advised.

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [were] staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they [were] not able to be seen coming to the city. But a young man saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim. Now he had a well in his courtyard, so they went down there. Then the woman took and spread a covering over the opening of the well; then she spread out dried grain on it, so nothing was discovered. read more.
When the servants of Absalom came to the woman [at] the house, they said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And she said to them, "They crossed over the brook of water." So they searched but could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. After they left, they came up from the well and went and told King David. They said to David, "Set out and cross over the water quickly, for thus Ahithophel has advised against you."