2 Samuel 16
1 And when David had passed a little beyond the top of the mountain, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, appeared to meet him, with two donkeys, which were burdened with two hundred loaves, and one hundred bunches of dried grapes, and one hundred masses of dried figs, and a skin of wine.
When David [and the others] had gone a little way past the top of the hill, Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba met him. He had with him two donkeys that were carrying 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches/clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of fresh fruit, and a leather bag full of wine.
2 And the king said to Ziba, “What do you intend to do with these things?” And Ziba responded: “The donkeys are for the household of the king, so that they may sit. And the loaves and dried figs are for your servants to eat. But the wine is for anyone to drink who may be faint in the desert.”
The king said to Ziba, “What are these for?” Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for your family to ride on, the bread and the fruit are for your soldiers to eat, and the wine is for them to drink when they become exhausted in the desert.”
3 And the king said, “Where is the son of your lord?” And Ziba answered the king: “He remained in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’”
The king said, “Where is Mephibosheth, the grandson of your [former] master [Saul]?” Ziba [deceived David by] saying, “He stayed in Jerusalem, because he thinks that now the Israeli people will allow him to rule the kingdom that his grandfather Saul ruled.”
4 And the king said to Ziba, “All the things which were for Mephibosheth are now yours.” And Ziba said, “I beg you that I may find grace before you, my lord the king.”
The king said to Ziba, “Okay, everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” Ziba replied, “Your Majesty, I will humbly serve you; and I desire/hope that you will always be pleased with me.”
5 Then king David went as far as Bahurim. And behold, a man from the kindred of the house of Saul, named Shimei, the son of Gera, went out from there. And going out, he continued on, and he was cursing,
When King David [and those with him] arrived at Bahurim [town], a man named Shimei met him. Shimei, whose father was Gera, was one of Saul’s relatives. Shimei was cursing David as he approached.
6 and throwing stones against David and against all the servants of king David. And all the people and all the warriors were traveling to the right and to the left sides of the king.
Then he threw stones at David and his officials, even though the officials and David’s bodyguards surrounded David.
7 And so, as he was cursing the king, Shimei said: “Go away, go away, you man of blood, and you man of Belial!
Shimei cursed David and said to him, “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!
8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood of the house of Saul. For you have usurped the kingdom in place of him. And so, the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom, your son. And behold, your evils press close upon you, because you are a man of blood.”
Yahweh is (getting revenge on/punishing) you all for murdering [MTY] many people in Saul’s family. And now he is giving Saul’s kingdom to your son Absalom. You murderer, you are being paid back for the many people that you have killed/murdered [MTY]!”
9 Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go and cut off his head.”
Then Abishai said to the king, “Your Majesty, this man is [as worthless as] [MET] a dead dog! (Why should he be allowed to curse you?/He should not be allowed to curse you.) [RHQ] Allow me to go over there and cut off his head!”
10 And the king said: “What is it to me and to all of you, O sons of Zeruiah? Permit him, so that he may curse. For the Lord has commanded him to curse David. And who is the one who would dare to say, ‘Why has he done so?’”
But the king replied, “You two sons of Zeruiah, (do not tell me what to do/this does not concern you) [RHQ]. If he is cursing me because Yahweh told him to do that, certainly no one should say ‘(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]’”
11 And the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: “Behold, my son, who went forth from my loins, is seeking my life. How much more does a son of Benjamin do so now? Permit him, so that he may curse, in accord with the command of the Lord.
Then David said to Abishai and to all his officials, “You know that my own son is trying to kill me. So [it is not surprising that] this man from the tribe of Benjamin is also trying to kill me. So ignore him, and allow him to curse me, because [perhaps he thinks that] Yahweh told him to do that.
12 Perhaps the Lord may look with favor upon my affliction, and the Lord may repay me good, in place of the cursing of this day.”
Perhaps Yahweh will see that I am having all this trouble, and [some day he will repay me by] (blessing/doing good things for) me in return for this man cursing me today.”
13 And so, David continued walking along the way, and his associates with him. But Shimei was advancing along the ridge of the mountain on the side opposite him, cursing and throwing stones at him, and scattering dirt.
Then David and those who were with him walked along the road, and Shimei continued walking along the hillside near him. While he walked along, he cursed David and threw stones and dirt at him.
14 And the king and the entire people with him, being weary, went and refreshed themselves there.
When David and those who were with him arrived at the Jordan [River], they were very tired. So they rested there.
15 But Absalom and all his people entered into Jerusalem. Moreover, Ahithophel was with him.
While that was happening, Absalom and all the Israeli people who were with him had arrived in Jerusalem. Ahithophel had also arrived there.
16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, had gone to Absalom, he said to him: “May you be well, O king! May you be well, O king!”
When David’s friend Hushai came to Absalom, he said to Absalom, “I desire/hope that the king will live a long time! May you live for many years!”
17 And Absalom said to him: “Is this your kindness to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
Absalom said to Hushai, “You have been loyal [RHQ] to your friend [David for a long time]. So why did you not go with him [instead of coming to me]?”
18 And Hushai responded to Absalom: “By no means! For I will be his, whom the Lord has chosen. And I, and all this people, and all of Israel, will remain with him.
Hushai replied, “I will serve the one whom Yahweh and these people and all the other people of Israel have chosen [to be their king]. So I will stay with you.
19 But then too, I declare this: whom should I serve? Is it not the son of the king? Just as I have been subject to your father, so will I be subject to you also.”
You are my master [King David’s] son; if I do not serve you, what other man should I serve [RHQ]? I will serve you as I served your father.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Present a counsel as to what we ought to do.”
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “What do you advise that we should do?”
21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom: “Enter to the concubines of your father, whom he left behind in order to care for the house. Thus, when all of Israel will hear that you disgraced your father, their hands may be strengthened with you.”
Ahithophel replied, “Your father left some of his slave wives in the palace to take care of it. Have sex [EUP] with them. When everyone in Israel hears that you have done that, they will realize that you are acting very contemptuously toward your father. Then all those who are with you will be very encouraged.”
22 Therefore, they spread a tent for Absalom on the rooftop. And he entered to the concubines of his father in the sight of all Israel.
So they set up a tent for Absalom on the roof [of the palace]. And Absalom went into the tent and had sex [EUP] with his father’s slave wives, [one by one, ] and everyone [HYP] could see [him going into the tent].
23 Now the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was treated as if one were consulting God. So was every counsel of Ahithophel, both when he was with David, and when he was with Absalom.
In those days, people accepted what Ahithophel recommended as though he were speaking the words of God. So just as David had always accepted what Ahithophel said, now Absalom did also.
