23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, ^pboth by David and by Absalom.

Hushai Saves David

1 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is ^qweary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. ^rI will strike down only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,¹ and all the people will be at peace.” 4 And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 Then Absalom said, “Call ^sHushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.” 7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged,^{2 t}like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. 9 Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall³ at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10 Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly ^umelt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. 11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, ^vfrom Dan to Beersheba, ^was the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. 13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” 14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” ^xFor the Lord had ordained⁴ to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

15 ^yThen Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. 16 Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at ^zthe fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be ^aswallowed up.’” 17 Now ^bJonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at ^cEn-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at ^dBahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. 19 ^eAnd the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. 20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook⁵ of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, ^f“Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.” 22 Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to ^ghis own city. He ^hset his house in order and ⁱhanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

24 Then David came to ^jMahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25 Now Absalom had set ^kAmasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,⁶ who had married Abigal the daughter of ^lNahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

27 When David came to Mahanaim, ^mShobi the son of Nahash from ⁿRabbah of the Ammonites, and ^oMachir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and ^pBarzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils,⁷ 29 honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and ^qweary and thirsty ^rin the wilderness.”

Absalom Killed

1 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of ^sIttai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” 3 ^tBut the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” 4 The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^uAnd all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ^vforest of Ephraim. 7 And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A ^fPrayer of David.

9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak,^{1 w}and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10 And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11 Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” 12 But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son, for ^xin our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ 13 On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life² (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” 14 Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. 15 And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. 17 And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him ^ya very great heap of stones. And all Israel ^zfled every one to his own home. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself ^athe pillar that is in ^bthe King’s Valley, for he said, ^c“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument³ to this day.

David Hears of Absalom’s Death

19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, ^d“Let me run and carry news to the king that ^ethe Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” 23 “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of ^fthe plain, and outran the Cushite.

24 Now David ^gwas sitting between the two gates, and ^hthe watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. 26 The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” 27 The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is ⁱlike the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, ^j“He is a good man and comes with good news.”

28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, ^k“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29 And the king said, ^l“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

David’s Grief

31 And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For ^mthe Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king said to the Cushite, ^l“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, ⁿ“May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” 33 ⁴ And the king was deeply moved and went up ^gto the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ^o“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”