2 SamuelChapter 17

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¹Ahithophel also said to Absalom, "Let me pick twelve thousand men. I will set out tonight and chase David. ²I will attack him while he is tired and weak. I will scare him, and all the people with him will run away. I will kill only the king. ³Then I will bring all the people back to you, like a bride coming home to her husband. You only want the life of one man. Then all the people will be at peace." ⁴This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel. ⁵Then Absalom said, "Call Hushai the Archite too. Let's hear what he has to say." ⁶So Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom told him, "This is Ahithophel's plan. Should we do it? If not, what do you say?" ⁷Hushai answered, "This time Ahithophel's advice is not good." ⁸He went on, "You know your father and his men. They are strong fighters. They are as fierce as a wild bear whose cubs have been stolen. Also, your father is a man of war. He won't spend the night with the troops. ⁹By now he is surely hiding in a cave or some other place. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears about it will say, 'Absalom's troops have been slaughtered.' ¹⁰Then even the bravest soldier will melt with fear, even one with a heart like a lion. That is because all Israel knows that your father is a strong fighter. They know the men with him are brave. ¹¹Instead, here is my advice. Gather all Israel to you, from Dan to Beersheba. They are as many as the sand on the seashore. Then lead them into battle yourself. ¹²We will attack David wherever we find him. We will fall on him like dew falls on the ground. Not one of the men with him will be left alive. ¹³If he pulls back into a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city. We will drag it down into the valley. Not even a pebble will be left there." ¹⁴Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "Hushai the Archite's advice is better than Ahithophel's." This happened because the LORD had planned to block Ahithophel's good advice. He did this so that he could bring ruin on Absalom. ¹⁵So Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, "This is what Ahithophel told Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do. And this is what I told them to do. ¹⁶Now send word to David fast. Tell him, 'Don't spend the night at the river crossings in the wilderness. Be sure to cross over. If you don't, the king and all the people with him will be wiped out.'" ¹⁷Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel. A servant girl would come and give them news. Then they would go and tell King David. They did this because they didn't dare to be seen going into the city. ¹⁸But a young man did see them, and he told Absalom. So the two of them left quickly. They came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹Then the man's wife took a cloth and spread it over the top of the well. She scattered grain on it, so no one would know a thing. ²⁰Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house. They asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" She answered, "They crossed over the stream." The men searched but didn't find them. So they went back to Jerusalem. ²¹After the men left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well. They went to tell King David. They said, "Get up and cross the river right away! Ahithophel has given this advice against you." ²²So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By sunrise, every one of them had crossed the Jordan. ²³Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed. So he saddled his donkey and went home to his own town. He put his things in order, and then he hanged himself. So he died. He was buried in his father's tomb. ²⁴Then David went to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. ²⁵Absalom had put Amasa in charge of the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite. Ithra had married Abigail. She was the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. ²⁶So the Israelites and Absalom set up camp in the land of Gilead. ²⁷David came to Mahanaim. There some men came to meet him. Shobi son of Nahash came from Rabbah of the Ammonites. Machir son of Ammiel came from Lo-debar. And Barzillai the Gileadite came from Rogelim. ²⁸They brought beds, bowls, and clay pots. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ²⁹honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd. It was for David and his people to eat. They said, "The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty in the wilderness."