Now it happened afterwards, that ^aAbsalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and ^astand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a case to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^ayour words are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” 4 Then Absalom would say, “^aOh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any case or judgment could come to me and I would justify him.” 5 And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would send forth his hand and take hold of him and ^akiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^aso Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 Now it happened at the end of ¹forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to Yahweh, in ^aHebron. 8 For your servant ^avowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^bIf Yahweh shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve Yahweh.’” 9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^aAbsalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Now two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^awho were invited and ^bwent ¹innocently, and they did not know anything. 12 And Absalom sent for ^aAhithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^bGiloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^cthe people increased continually with Absalom.

13 Then an informant came to David, saying, “^aThe hearts of the men of Israel ¹have followed Absalom.” 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “^aArise and let us flee, for otherwise there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go in haste, lest he overtake us hastily and drive calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.” 16 So the king went out and all his household ¹with him. But ^athe king left ten concubines to keep the house. 17 And the king went out and all the people ¹with him, and they stopped at the last house. 18 Now all his servants passed on beside him, ^aall the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^bsix hundred men who had come ¹with him from Gath, passed on before the king.

19 Then the king said to ^aIttai the Gittite, “Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile; return to your own place. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, going about, while ^aI go where I go? Return and cause your brothers to return; ^blovingkindness and ¹truth be with you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As Yahweh lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely ^awherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” 22 So David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over ^athe brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward ^bthe way of the wilderness.

24 Now behold, ^aZadok also came, and all the Levites with him ^bcarrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^cAbiathar came up until all the people had finished passing from the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of Yahweh, then ^aHe will cause me to return and show me both it and ^bHis habitation. 26 But if He should say thus, ‘^aI have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, ^blet Him do to me as seems good in His sight.” 27 The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^aa seer? Return to the city in peace and your ^btwo sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I am going to wait ^aat the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and ^ahis head was covered and he was walking ^bbarefoot. And all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went. 31 Now David informed them, saying, “^aAhithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Yahweh, I pray, ^bmake the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”

32 Then it happened that as David was coming to the summit, where he used to worship God, that behold, Hushai the ^aArchite met him with his ¹coat torn and ²dust on his head. 33 And David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be ^aa burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city, and ^asay to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that ^awhatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall inform Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, ^atheir two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^bby their hand you shall send me everything that you hear.” 37 So Hushai, ^aDavid’s friend, came into the city, and ^bAbsalom came into Jerusalem.

Now it came about after this that ^aAbsalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men ¹to run ahead of him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and ^astand beside the road to the gate; and when any man who had a lawsuit was to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^ayour ¹claims are good and right, but you have no one to listen to you on the part of the king.” 4 Moreover, Absalom would say, “^aOh that someone would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has a lawsuit or claim could come to me, and I would give him justice!” 5 And whenever a man approached to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and ^akiss him. 6 Absalom dealt this way with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^aso Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

7 Now it came about at the end of ¹four years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the LORD, in ^aHebron. 8 For your servant ^amade a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^bIf the LORD will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.’” 9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron. 10 But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^aAbsalom is king in Hebron!’” 11 Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^awho were invited and ^bwent ¹innocently, for they did not know anything. 12 And Absalom sent for ^aAhithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^bGiloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^cthe people continually increased with Absalom.

13 Then a messenger came to David, saying, “^aThe hearts of the people of Israel are ¹with Absalom.” 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “^aArise and let’s flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants will do whatever my lord the king chooses.” 16 So the king left, and all his household ¹with him; but ^athe king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house. 17 The king left, and all the people ¹with him, and they stopped at the last house. 18 Now all of his servants passed by beside him, and ^aall the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^bsix hundred men who had come ¹with him from Gath, passed by before the king.

19 Then the king said to ^aIttai the Gittite, “Why should you go with us too? Return and stay with ¹your king, since you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place. 20 You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today, while ^aI go wherever I go? Return and take your brothers back; ^bmercy and ¹truth be with you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^awherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there assuredly shall your servant be!” 22 Then David said to Ittai, “Go and cross over the brook Kidron.” So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the ¹little ones who were with him. 23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^athe brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^bthe way of the wilderness.

24 Now behold, ^aZadok also came, and all the Levites with him, ^bcarrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^cAbiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. 25 And the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, then ^aHe will bring me back and show me both it and ^bHis habitation. 26 But if He says this: ‘^aI have no delight in you,’ then here I am, ^blet Him do to me as seems good ¹to Him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^aa seer? Return to the city in peace, and your ^btwo sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I am going to wait ^aat the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

30 And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and ^ahis head was covered, and he was walking ^bbarefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went. 31 Now someone informed David, saying, “^aAhithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “LORD, please ^bmake the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”

32 It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^aArchite met him with his ¹coat torn, and ²dust on his head. 33 And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you will become ^aa burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and ^asay to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father’s servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,’ then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me. 35 Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that ^awhatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold ^atheir two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^bby them you shall send me everything that you hear.” 37 So Hushai, ^aDavid’s friend, came into the city, and ^bAbsalom came into Jerusalem.