2 Samuel 15

1 After this, Absalom prepared him charets and horses, and fiftie men to runne before him.

And it came to pass after this that Abessalom prepared for himself chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

2 And Absalom rose vp early, and stoode hard by the entring in of the gate: and euery man that had any matter, and came to the King for iudgement, him did Absalom call vnto him, and sayde, Of what citie art thou? And he answered, Thy seruant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

And Abessalom rose early, and stood by the side of the way of the gate: and it came to pass that every man who had a cause, came to the king for judgment, and Abessalom cried to him, and said to him, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant [is] of one of the tribes of Israel.

3 Then Absalom said vnto him, See, thy matters are good and righteous, but there is no man deputed of the King to heare thee.

And Abessalom said to him, See, thy affairs [are] right and clear, yet thou hast no one [appointed] of the king to hear thee.

4 Absalom sayd moreouer, Oh that I were made Iudge in the lande, that euery man which hath any matter of controuersie, might come to me, that I might do him iustice.

And Abessalom said, O that one would make me a judge in the land; then every man who had a dispute or a cause would come to me, and I would judge him!

5 And when any man came neere to him, and did him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and tooke him, and kissed him.

And it came to pass when a man came near to do him obeisance, that he stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.

6 And on this maner did Absalom to al Israel, that came to the King for iudgement: so Absalom stale the hearts of the men of Israel.

And Abessalom did after this manner to all Israel that came to the king for judgment; and Abessalom gained the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 And after fourtie yeeres, Absalom sayd vnto the King, I pray thee, let me go to Hebron, and render my vowe which I haue vowed vnto the Lord.

And it came to pass after forty years, that Abessalom said to his father, I will go now, and pay my vows, which I vowed to the Lord in Chebron.

8 For thy seruant vowed a vowe when I remayned at Geshur, in Aram, saying, If the Lord shall bring me againe in deede to Ierusalem, I will serue the Lord.

For thy servant vowed a vow when I dwelt at Gedsur in Syria, saying, If the Lord should indeed restore me to Jerusalem, then will I serve the Lord.

9 And the King sayd vnto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.

And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose and went to Chebron.

10 Then Absalom sent spyes throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, When yee heare the sound of the trumpet, Ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.

And Abessalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then shall ye say, Abessalom is become king in Chebron.

11 And with Absalom went two hundreth men out of Ierusalem, that were called: and they went in their simplicitie, knowing nothing.

And there went with Abessalom two hundred chosen men from Jerusalem; and they went in their simplicity, and knew not anything.

12 Also Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite Dauids counseller, from his citie Giloh, while he offred sacrifices: and the treason was great: for the people encreased still with Absalom.

And Abessalom sent to Achitophel the Theconite, the counsellor of David, from his city, from Gola, where he was sacrificing: and there was a strong conspiracy; and the people with Abessalom were increasingly numerous.

13 Then came a messenger to Dauid, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are turned after Absalom.

And there came a messenger to David, saying, the heart of the men of Israel is gone after Abessalom.

14 Then Dauid sayd vnto all his seruants that were with him at Ierusalem, Vp, and let vs flee: for we shall not escape from Absalom: make speede to depart, lest he come suddenly and take vs, and bring euill vpon vs, and smite the citie with the edge of the sworde.

And David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Rise, and let us flee, for we have no refuge from Abessalom: make haste and go, lest he overtake us speedily, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

15 And the Kings seruants sayd vnto him, Behold, thy seruants are ready to do according to all that my lord the King shall appoynt.

And the king's servants said to the king, In all things which our lord the king chooses, behold [we are] thy servants.

16 So the King departed and all his houshold after him, and the King left ten concubines to keepe the house.

And the king and all his house went out on foot: and the king left ten women of his concubines to keep the house.

17 And the King went forth and all the people after him, and taried in a place farre off.

And the king and all his servants went out on foot; and abode in a distant house.

18 And all his seruants went about him, and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the Gittites, euen sixe hudreth men which were come after him from Gath, went before the King.

And all his servants passed on by his side, and every Chelethite, and every Phelethite, and they stood by the olive tree in the wilderness: and all the people marched near him, and all his court, and all the men of might, and all the men of war, six hundred: and they were present at his side: and every Chelethite, and every Phelethite, and all the six hundred Gittites that came on foot out of Geth, and they went on before the king.

19 Then sayde the King to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore commest thou also with vs? Returne aud abide with the King, for thou art a stranger: depart thou therefore to thy place.

And the king said to Ethi, the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? return, and dwell with the king, for thou art a stranger, and thou has come forth as a sojourner out of thy place.

20 Thou camest yesterday, and should I cause thee to wander to day and go with vs? I will goe whither I can: therefore returne thou and cary againe thy brethren: mercy and trueth be with thee.

Whereas thou camest yesterday, shall I to-day cause thee to travel with us, and shalt thou [thus] change thy place? thou didst come forth yesterday, and to-day shall I set thee in motion to go along with us? I indeed will go whithersoever I may go: return then, and cause thy brethren to return with thee, and may the Lord deal mercifully and truly with thee.

21 And Ittai answered the King, and sayde, As the Lord liueth, and as my lord the King liueth, in what place my lord the King shalbe, whether in death or life, euen there surely will thy seruant bee.

And Ethi answered the king and said, [As] the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, in the place wheresoever my lord shall be, whether it be for death or life, there shall thy servant be.

22 Then Dauid sayd to Ittai, Come, and go forward. And Ittai the Gittite went, and all his men, and all the children that were with him.

And the king said to Ethi, Come and pass over with me. So Ethi the Gittite and the king passed over, and all his servants, and all the multitude with him.

23 And all the countrey wept with a loude voyce, and all the people went forward, but the King passed ouer the brooke Kidron: and all the people went ouer toward the way of ye wildernes.

And all the country wept with a loud voice. And all the people passed by over the brook of Kedron; and the king crossed the brook Kedron: and all the people and the king passed on toward the way of the wilderness.

24 And lo, Zadok also was there, and all the Leuites with him, bearing the Arke of the couenant of God: and they set downe the Arke of God, and Abiathar went vp vntill the people were all come out of the citie.

And behold also Sadoc, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Baethar: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had passed out of the city.

25 Then the King said vnto Zadok, Carie the Arke of God againe into the citie: if I shall finde fauour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me againe, and shewe me both it, and the Tabernacle thereof.

And the king said to Sadoc, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I should find favour in the eyes of the Lord, then will he bring me back, and he will shew me it and its beauty.

26 But if he thus say, I haue no delite in thee, behold, here am I, let him doe to me as seemeth good in his eyes.

But if he should say thus, I have no pleasure in thee; behold, [here] I am, let him do to me according to that which is good in his eyes.

27 The King sayde againe vnto Zadok the Priest, Art not thou a Seer? returne into the citie in peace, and your two sonnes with you: to wit, Ahimaaz thy sonne, and Ionathan the sonne of Abiathar.

And the king said to Sadoc the priest, Behold, thou shalt return to the city in peace, and Achimaas thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.

28 Behold, I wil tarie in the fieldes of the wildernesse, vntill there come some worde from you to be tolde me.

Behold, I continue in arms in Araboth of the desert, until there come tidings from you to report to me.

29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar caried the Arke of God againe to Ierusalem, and they taried there.

So Sadoc and Abiathar brought back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, and it continued there.

30 And Dauid went vp the mount of oliues and wept as he went vp, and had his head couered, and went barefooted: and al the people that was with him, had euery man his head couered, and as they went vp, they wept.

And David went up by the ascent of [the mount of] Olives, ascending and weeping, and had his head covered, and went barefooted: and all the people that were with him covered [every] man his head; and they went up, ascending and weeping.

31 Then one tolde Dauid, saying, Ahithophel is one of them that haue cospired with Absalom: and Dauid sayde, O Lord, I pray thee, turne the counsell of Ahithophel into foolishnesse.

And it was reported to David, saying, Achitophel also [is] among the conspirators with Abessalom. And David said, O Lord my God, disconcert, I pray thee, the counsel of Achitophel.

32 Then Dauid came to the toppe of the mount where he worshipped God: and beholde, Hushai the Archite came against him with his coate torne, and hauing earth vpon his head.

And David came as far as Ros, where he worshipped God: and behold, Chusi the chief friend of David came out to meet him, having rent his garment, and earth [was] upon his head.

33 Vnto whom Dauid sayd, If thou goe with me, thou shalt be a burthen vnto me.

And David said to him, If thou shouldest go over with me, then wilt thou be a burden to me;

34 But if thou returne to the citie, and say vnto Absalom, I wil be thy seruant, O King, (as I haue bene in time past thy fathers seruant, so will I now be thy seruant) then thou mayest bring me the counsell of Ahithophel to nought.

but if thou shall return to the city, and shalt say to Abessalom, Thy brethren are passed over, and the king thy father is passed over after me: and now I am thy servant, O king, suffer me to live: at one time even of late I was the servant of thy father, and now I [am] thy humble servant—so shalt thou disconcert for me, the counsel of Achitophel.

35 And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the Priests? therefore what so euer thou shalt heare out of the Kings house, thou shalt shew to Zadok and Abiathar the Priests.

And, behold, [there are] there with thee Sadoc and Abiathar the priests; and it shall be that every word that thou shalt hear of the house of the king, thou shalt report it to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests.

36 Beholde, there are with them their two sonnes: Ahimaaz Zadoks sonne, and Ionathan Abiathars sonne: by them also shall ye send me euery thing that ye can heare.

Behold, [there are] there with them their two sons, Achimaas the son of Sadoc, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; and by them ye shall report to me every word which ye shall hear.

37 So Hushai Dauids friend went into the citie: and Absalom came into Ierusalem.

So Chusi the friend of David went into the city, and Abessalom was lately gone into Jerusalem.