18 And ^kall his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from ^lGath, passed on before the king. 19 Then the king said to ^mIttai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go ⁿI know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show¹ steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, ^o“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^pwherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 22 And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed ^qthe brook ^rKidron, and all the people passed on toward ^sthe wilderness.

24 And ^tAbiathar came up, and behold, ^uZadok came also with all the Levites, ^vbearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will ^wbring me back and let me see both it and his ^xdwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no ^ypleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, ^zlet him do to me what seems good to him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^aseer? Go back² to the city in peace, with ^byour two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I will wait at ^cthe fords of ^sthe wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, ^dbarefoot and ^ewith his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, ^fweeping as they went. 31 And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please ^gturn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

32 While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai ^hthe Archite came to meet him ⁱwith his coat torn and ⁱdirt on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be ^ja burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ^k‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, ^ltell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, ^mtheir two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, ^mand by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” 37 So Hushai, ⁿDavid’s friend, came into the city, ^ojust as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.