2 Samuel 15

Some time after this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him.

1And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

NoteChariots, horses and a running escort were the trappings of royalty in the ancient Near East; a king's son parading with them in public was making a visible claim to the throne. Israel had no cavalry tradition of its own, so the display also carried a foreign, imperial flavor.

2Absalom would get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever a man came to the king with a dispute to be settled, Absalom would call him over and ask, "What city are you from?" The man would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."

2And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

NoteThe gate of a walled city was its public square and its courthouse: the open space just inside the gateway was where elders heard disputes, witnesses were called and contracts were sealed. Anyone bringing a case to the king would come this way.

3Then Absalom would say, "Look, your case is good and right, but the king has not appointed anyone to hear you."

3And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.

NoteHearing lawsuits was one of a king's central duties. Absalom's complaint is that David has appointed no officials to handle the flow of cases, a charge the reader has no way to check, and the narrative does not confirm it.

4Absalom would also say, "If only I were made judge in this land! Then everyone with a complaint or a case could come to me, and I would see that he got justice."

4Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!

Note"Judge" here does not mean a court official under the king. In Israel's older tradition a judge was a leader who both settled disputes and governed, so asking to be made judge in the land came very close to asking to rule.

5And whenever a man came near to bow low before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.

5And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.

NoteBowing low was the ordinary respect owed to a member of the royal house. By catching hold of the man and kissing him, Absalom refuses the gesture and greets him instead as a kinsman or equal.

6Absalom treated every Israelite who came to the king for a ruling this way. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

6And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Note"Stole the hearts" is a Hebrew idiom. It can mean won their loyalty, and it can also mean deceived them or took them in; the phrase holds both senses at once.

7After forty years had passed, Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go to Hebron and keep the promise I made to the LORD.

7And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron.

NoteThe Hebrew text reads "forty years," which the King James Version follows, but that is impossible in the story as told, David reigned forty years in all. Some ancient manuscripts and versions read "four," which most modern translations adopt. Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem, was where David had been made king and had reigned seven years before taking Jerusalem. It was also Absalom's birthplace. Going there to keep a vow was a plausible errand and a shrewd choice of base.

8For while your servant was living in Geshur in Aram, I made this promise: 'If the LORD really does bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will worship the LORD.'"

8For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.

NoteGeshur was a small Aramean kingdom east of the Sea of Galilee. Absalom's mother was a Geshurite princess, and he had fled there for three years after killing his half-brother Amnon. "Aram" is the region the King James Version calls Syria. A vow was a conditional promise: if God did a particular thing, the person bound himself to perform a specified act of worship, usually a sacrifice, afterwards. Leaving it unpaid was a serious matter, which is why the request was hard for David to refuse.

9The king said to him, "Go in peace." So Absalom got up and went to Hebron.

9And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.

10But Absalom sent secret messengers through all the tribes of Israel with this word: "As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron!'"

10But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.

NoteThe horn is a ram's horn, used across Israel as a signal instrument, for alarm, for assembly, and for proclaiming a new king. A single blast relayed from place to place could carry a message across the country in hours.

11Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited as guests, and they went in all innocence, knowing nothing about the plan.

11And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.

NoteGuests invited to a sacrificial meal shared in the host's hospitality. Two hundred prominent men from Jerusalem appearing at Absalom's side would look to onlookers like endorsement, and their presence also made them hostages to the plot once it broke.

12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's adviser, to come from his hometown of Giloh. The plot grew strong, and more and more people joined Absalom.

12And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

Note"Adviser" (King James "counsellor") was a formal position at court, not a casual role; Ahithophel's judgment was famously trusted (see 16:23). Giloh was a town in the hill country of Judah south of Jerusalem. The sacrifices were the public religious occasion Absalom had used as his pretext, and they served to gather a crowd.

13A messenger came to David and said, "The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom."

13And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

14David said to all the officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Get up, and let us run for it, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry and go, or he will catch up with us quickly, bring disaster on us, and kill the people of the city with the sword."

14And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

15The king's officials said to him, "Whatever my lord the king decides, your servants are ready to do."

15And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.

16So the king set out, and his whole household followed him. He left behind ten women who were his concubines, to look after the palace.

16And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house.

NoteA concubine was a secondary wife: legally attached to the household and her children recognized, but of lower standing than a full wife, usually because she brought no family alliance or bride-price with her. Because the women of a king's household belonged to whoever held the throne, leaving them behind will matter later in the story.

17The king went out with all the people following him, and they stopped at the last house, some distance from the city.

17And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.

NoteThe Hebrew says literally "the far house," meaning the last building on the edge of the settlement. Its exact sense is uncertain; the point is that David halted at the outskirts to review the column as it filed past.

18All his officials marched past him, along with all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had come with him from Gath. They all marched past the king.

18And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

NoteThe Cherethites and Pelethites were David's professional bodyguard, foreign mercenaries whose names probably connect them with Crete and with the Philistines. The Gittites were men of Gath, one of the five Philistine cities, where David himself had once taken refuge from Saul. All three groups were outsiders with no stake in an Israelite family quarrel, which is what made them reliable.

19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come with us too? Go back and stay with the new king. You are a foreigner, and you are also away from your own land.

19Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.

Note"Stay with the new king" is an addition for clarity; the Hebrew says only "stay with the king," and it is genuinely unclear whether David means Absalom, who is about to hold Jerusalem, or himself, or the king of Gath whom Ittai has left. Translators divide on it. The two words describe Ittai's position exactly: he is a foreigner by birth and, on top of that, cut off from his own country.

20You only arrived yesterday. Should I make you wander here and there with us today, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen with you. May faithful love and truth go with you."

20Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.

NoteThe pair of Hebrew words behind "faithful love and truth" (hesed and emet) is a standard formula for loyalty that keeps its commitments, the steady, reliable dealing expected between parties bound to each other. The Hebrew here does not name a subject, so the blessing may be a wish that God show Ittai such loyalty, or that it simply go with him.

21But Ittai answered the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means death or life, that is where your servant will be."

21And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

Note"As surely as the LORD lives" was the strongest oath formula in Hebrew: the speaker stakes the words on something that cannot fail. Swearing by the king's life alongside it doubles the binding force.

22David said to Ittai, "Go on ahead, then." So Ittai the Gittite marched past, with all his men and all the children who were with him.

22And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

23Everyone in the countryside wept out loud as all the people passed by. The king himself crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people crossed with him and headed toward the wilderness.

23And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.

NoteThe Kidron is the steep ravine running along the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives. Crossing it meant leaving the city and its protection behind, the same boundary a person crossed to go into exile or into the desert country sloping down toward the Jordan.

24Zadok was there too, and with him all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar went up and stayed there until all the people had finished leaving the city.

24And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.

NoteThe ark of the covenant was a gold-covered wooden chest holding the tablets of the law, treated as the place where God's presence met Israel. It had been carried ahead of the people in war and on the march, so bringing it out with a fleeing king was a bid to take that presence along. The Levites were the tribe set apart to carry and care for the sanctuary and its furniture; only they were permitted to handle the ark. The Hebrew of what Abiathar does is obscure. The King James "went up" may mean he climbed the slope, or offered sacrifices ("went up" is used of offerings), or the text may be slightly damaged; ancient versions differ.

25Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If the LORD is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see both the ark and the place where it rests.

25And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:

Note"The place where it rests" is the tent David had pitched for the ark in Jerusalem. Sending the ark back is also, in practical terms, sending back two priests who can watch the city for him.

26But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then here I am. Let him do to me whatever seems good to him."

26But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.

27The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer, a man who receives messages from God? Go back into the city in peace, and take your two sons with you: your own son Ahimaaz, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

27The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

NoteA seer was a recognized role: a man consulted for messages received from God, often about a specific decision. David's question may be a genuine question, an appeal to Zadok's standing, or (since the Hebrew word can simply mean "one who sees") an instruction to keep his eyes open. The Hebrew is difficult and translators read it in all these ways.

28Listen, I will wait at the river crossings in the wilderness until word comes from you to tell me what is happening."

28See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.

NoteThe fords were the shallow places where the Jordan and its side streams could be waded. They were the natural stopping point for a party heading east, and the natural place to wait for news before deciding whether to cross.

29So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they stayed there.

29Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.

30David went on up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he climbed. His head was covered, and he walked barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too, and they wept as they climbed.

30And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

NoteThe Mount of Olives is the ridge immediately east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron. A covered head and bare feet were recognized public signs of grief and humiliation, the posture of a mourner, and of a man stripped of his standing.

31Someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of the plotters with Absalom." So David said, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's advice into foolishness."

31And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

32When David reached the top of the hill, the place where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite came to meet him. His robe was torn and there was dirt on his head.

32And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:

NoteTearing one's outer robe and putting dust or earth on the head were the standard gestures of mourning and disaster, done openly so that everyone could see the wearer's state. The Archites were a small clan whose territory lay near Bethel, on the border of Benjamin.

33David said to him, "If you come along with me, you will only be a burden to me.

33Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:

34But if you go back to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king. I was your father's servant before, and now I will be your servant,' then you can work against Ahithophel's advice for me.

34But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.

35Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you, will they not? So whatever you hear in the king's palace, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

35And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

36Their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. Send word to me by them about everything you hear."

36Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear.

37So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

37So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Note"David's friend" is a court title, not a description of affection: the king's friend was a trusted personal confidant holding an official place at court (compare 1 Kings 4:5). It is what makes Hushai's offer to serve Absalom credible.