Kings II 16

1 And David passed on a little way from Ros; and, behold, Siba the servant of Memphibosthe [came] to meet him; and he had a couple of asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred [bunches of] raisins, and a hundred [cakes of] dates, and bottle of wine.

And when David had gone a little way past the top of the slope, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, came to him, with two asses on which were two hundred cakes of bread and a hundred stems of dry grapes and a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine.

2 And the king said to Siba, What meanest you by these? and Siba, said, The asses [are] for the household of the king to sit upon, and the loaves and the dates [are] for the young men to eat, and the wine [is] for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink.

And David said to Ziba, What is your reason for this? And Ziba said, The asses are for the use of the king's people, and the bread and the fruit are food for the young men; and the wine is for drink for those who are overcome by weariness in the waste land.

3 And the king said, And where [is] the son of your master? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father.

And the king said, And where is your master's son? And Ziba said, He is still at Jerusalem: for he said, Today Israel will give back to me the kingdom of my father.

4 And the king said to Siba, Behold, all Memphibosthe's property [is] your. And Siba did obeisance and said, My lord, O king, let me find grace in your eyes.

Then the king said to Ziba, Truly everything which was Mephibosheth's is yours. And Ziba said, I give honour to my lord, may I have grace in your eyes, my lord, O king!

5 And king David came to Baurim; and, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, and his name [was] Semei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as he went,

And when King David came to Bahurim, a man of Saul's family named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there, calling curses after him.

6 and cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on the right and left hand of the king.

And he sent stones at David and at all the king's servants and at all the people and at all the men of war by his side, on the right hand and on the left.

7 And thus Semei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, you bloody man, and man of sin.

And Shimei said, with curses, Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, you good-for-nothing:

8 The Lord has returned upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, because you have reigned in his stead; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Abessalom your son: and, behold, you [are taken] in your mischief, because you [are] a bloody man.

The Lord has sent punishment on you for all the blood of the family of Saul, whose kingdom you have taken; and the Lord has given the kingdom to Absalom, your son: now you yourself are taken in your evil, because you are a man of blood.

9 And Abessa the son of Saruia said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and take off his head.

Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, Is this dead dog to go on cursing my lord the king? let me go over and take off his head.

10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Saruia? even let him alone, and so let him curse, for the Lord has told him to curse David: and who shall say, Why have you done thus?

And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Let him go on cursing, for the Lord has said, Put a curse on David, and who then may say, Why have you done so?

11 And David said to Abessa and to all his servants, Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still more now may the son of Benjamin: let him curse, because the Lord has told him.

And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, You see how my son, the offspring of my body, has made designs against my life: how much more then may this Benjamite do so? Let him be, and let him go on cursing; for the Lord has given him orders.

12 If by any means the Lord may look on my affliction, thus shall he return me good for his cursing this day.

It may be that the Lord will take note of my wrongs, and give me back good in answer to his cursing of me today.

13 And David and all the men with him went on the way: and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting stones at him, and sprinkling him with dirt.

So David and his men went on their way: and Shimei went by the hillside parallel with them, cursing and sending stones and dust at him.

14 And the king, and all the people with him, came away and refreshed themselves there.

And the king and his people came tired to Jordan, and took their rest there.

15 And Abessalom and all the men of Israel went into Jerusalem, and Achitophel with him.

And Absalom and the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.

16 And it came to pass when Chusi the chief friend of David came to Abessalom, that Chusi said to Abessalom, Let the king live.

Then Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom and said, Long life to the king, long life to the king!

17 And Abessalom said to Chusi, [Is] this your kindness to your friend? why went you not forth with your friend?

And Absalom said, Is this your love for your friend? why did you not go with your friend?

18 And Chusi said to Abessalom, Nay, but following whom the Lord, and this people, and all Israel have chosen, —his will I be, and with him I will dwell.

And Hushai said to Absalom, Not so; I am for that man whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have taken as king, and I will take my place with him.

19 And again, whom shall I serve? should I not in the presence of his son? As I served in the sight of your father, so will I be in your presence.

And more than this! where is my place as a servant? is it not before his son? as I have been your father's servant, so will I be yours.

20 And Abessalom said to Achitophel, Deliberate amongst yourselves concerning what we should do.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your opinion now, what are we to do?

21 And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Go in to your father's concubines, whom he left to keep his house; and all Israel shall hear that you have dishonoured your father; and the hands of all that are with you shall be strengthened.

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to your father's women who are here looking after his house; then all Israel will have the news that you are hated by your father, and the hands of your supporters will be strong.

22 And they pitched a tent for Abessalom on the roof, and Abessalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.

So they put up the tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father's women before the eyes of all Israel.

23 And the counsel of Achitophel, which he counselled in former days, [was] as if one should enquire of the word of God: so [was] all the counsel of Achitophel both to David and also to Abessalom.

In those days the opinions of Ahithophel were valued as highly as if through him a man might get direction from God; so were they valued by David as much as by Absalom.