2 Samuel 17

1 Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.

And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, 'Let me choose, I pray thee, twelve thousand men, and I arise and pursue after David to-night,

2 I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king

and come upon him, and he weary and feeble-handed, and I have caused him to tremble, and all the people have fled who [are] with him, and I have smitten the king by himself,

3 and bring all the people back to you as a bride returning to her husband. You seek the life of only one man; then all the people will be at peace.”

and I bring back all the people unto thee — as the turning back of the whole [is] the man whom thou art seeking — all the people are peace.

4 This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

And the thing is right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.

5 Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite as well, and let us hear what he too has to say.”

And Absalom saith, 'Call, I pray thee, also for Hushai the Archite, and we hear what [is] in his mouth — even he.'

6 So Hushai came to Absalom, who told him, “Ahithophel has spoken this proposal. Should we carry it out? If not, what do you say?”

And Hushai cometh in unto Absalom, and Absalom speaketh unto him, saying, 'According to this word hath Ahithophel spoken; do we do his word? if not, thou — speak thou.'

7 Hushai replied, “This time the advice of Ahithophel is not sound.”

And Hushai saith unto Absalom, 'Not good [is] the counsel that Ahithophel hath counselled at this time.'

8 He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.

And Hushai saith, 'Thou hast known thy father and his men, that they [are] heroes, and they are bitter in soul as a bereaved bear in a field, and thy father [is] a man of war, and doth not lodge with the people;

9 Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’

lo, now, he is hidden in one of the pits, or in one of the places, and it hath been, at the falling among them at the commencement, that the hearer hath heard, and said, There hath been a slaughter among the people who [are] after Absalom;

10 Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.

and he also, the son of valour, whose heart [is] as the heart of the lion, doth utterly melt, for all Israel doth know that thy father is a hero, and sons of valour [are] those with him.

11 Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.

'So that I have counselled: Let all Israel be diligently gathered unto thee, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude, and thou thyself art going in the midst;

12 Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain.

and we have come in unto him in one of the places where he is found, and we [are] upon him as the dew falleth on the ground, and there hath not been left of him and of all the men who [are] with him even one.

13 If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found.”

And if unto a city he is gathered, then they have caused all Israel to bear unto that city ropes, and we have drawn it unto the brook till that there hath not been found there even a stone.'

14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

And Absalom saith — and all the men of Israel — 'Better [is] the counsel of Hushai the Archite than the counsel of Ahithophel;' and Jehovah willed to make void the good counsel of Ahithophel for the sake of Jehovah's bringing unto Absalom the evil.

15 So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised.

And Hushai saith unto Zadok and unto Abiathar the priests, 'Thus and thus hath Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus I have counselled;

16 Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

and now, send hastily, and declare to David, saying, Lodge not to-night in the plains of the wilderness, and also, certainly pass over, lest there be a swallowing up of the king and of all the people who are with him.'

17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be seen entering the city.

And Jonathan and Ahimaaz are standing at En-Rogel, and the maid-servant hath gone and declared to them — and they go and have declared [it] to king David — for they are not able to be seen to go in to the city.

18 But a young man did see them and told Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.

And a youth seeth them, and declareth to Absalom; and they go on both of them hastily, and come in unto the house of a man in Bahurim, and he hath a well in his court, and they go down there,

19 Then the man’s wife took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well, scattering grain over it so nobody would know a thing.

and the woman taketh and spreadeth the covering over the face of the well, and spreadeth on it the ground corn, and the thing hath not been known.

20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

And the servants of Absalom come in unto the woman to the house, and say, 'Where [are] Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' and the woman saith to them, 'They passed over the brook of water;' and they seek, and have not found, and turn back to Jerusalem.

21 After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”

And it cometh to pass, after their going on, that they come up out of the well, and go and declare to king David, and say unto David, 'Rise ye, and pass over hastily the waters, for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.'

22 So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.

And David riseth, and all the people who [are] with him, and they pass over the Jordan, till the light of the morning, till one hath not been lacking who hath not passed over the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

And Ahithophel hath seen that his counsel was not done, and he saddleth the ass, and riseth and goeth unto his house, unto his city, and giveth charge unto his household, and strangleth himself, and dieth, and he is buried in the burying-place of his father.

24 Then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.

And David came to Mahanaim, and Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him;

25 Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.

and Amasa hath Absalom set instead of Joab over the host, and Amasa [is] a man's son whose name is Ithra the Israelite who hath gone in unto Abigail, daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, mother of Joab;

26 So the Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

and Israel encampeth with Absalom [in] the land of Gilead.

27 When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.

And it cometh to pass at the coming in of David to Mahanaim, that Shobi, son of Nahash, from Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and Machir son of Ammiel, from Lo-Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite, from Rogelim,

28 They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

couch, and basin, and earthen vessel, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and roasted [corn], and beans, and lentiles, and roasted [pulse],

29 honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”

and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, have brought nigh for David, and for the people who [are] with him to eat, for they said, 'Thy people [is] hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.'