to the high place, where they worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Arachite met him, with his skirt rent, and earth upon his head.

And David said unto him, If thou go with me, thou shalt be a burden unto me.

And if thou go into the city again, and say unto Absalom, I am thy servant, I will be the king’s servant: for I was thy father’s servant in those days, and I will be thy servant now: then thou shalt well destroy the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

So Zadok and Abiathar the priests are with thee. All that thou heardest of the king’s house, say thou unto Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

Behold, their two sons are with them, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. By them thou mayest tell me what thou shalt hear.

So Hushai the friend of David came into the city, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.
(2 Samuel)
Chapter 16
Ziba’s slander. Simei’s blasphemy. Absalom’s incest.

And when David was come down a little from the high place, behold, Ziba the lad of Mephibosheth met him, saddled with a pair of asses; and upon them were two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred heads of raisins, and an hundred heads of figs, and a bottle of wine.

And the king said unto Ziba, What wilt thou do with these? And Ziba said, The asses shall be for the king’s servants to ride upon, and the loaves and figs for the young men to eat, and the
wine to drink, when they are weary in the wilderness.

And the king said, Where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me my father’s kingdom.

And the king said unto Ziba, Behold, all that Mephibosheth hath shall be thine. Ziba said: I worship; let me find grace in thy sight, my lord king.

And it came to pass, when king David was come to Bahurim, that, behold, there went out a man there of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera; and he went out, and cursed;

And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David. For all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

And Shimei, when he had cursed, said, Out, out, thou bloodhound, thou loose man.

The LORD hath recompensed thee for all the blood of the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead. Now hath the LORD delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art in thy calamity, because thou art a bloodhound.

And Abishai the son of Zeruiah said unto the king, Shall this dead dog curse my lord the king?
I will go and pluck off his head.

And the king said: Ye children of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you? Let him curse: for the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who then can say, Why doest thou thus?

And David said unto Abishai, and unto all his servants: Behold, my son, which is come out of my womb, is after my life: why not now also the son of Jemini? Let him be subdued, that he may curse: for the LORD hath commanded him.

Peradventure the LORD will look upon my affliction, and repay me with kindness his cursing this day.

So David went on his way with his men: but Shimei went on beside him by the side of the mountain, and cursed, and cast stones at him, and blasted him with stones of the earth.

And the king came in, and all the people that were with him, weary, and refreshed themselves there.

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

And when Hushai the Arachite, David’s friend, came in unto Absalom, he said unto Absalom, Happy king! Happy is he, O king!

And Absalom said unto Hushai, Is this thy mercy to thy friend? Why wentest thou not with thy friend?

And Hushai said unto Absalom, Not so; but whom the LORD hath chosen, and this people, and all the men of Israel, I will be his, and will dwell with him.

Secondly, whom shall I serve? Should I not serve before his son? As I have served thy father.
As I have served before thy father, so will I serve before thee.

And Absalom said unto Ahithophel, Counsel ye, what shall we do?

And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Put to sleep thy father’s concubines, whom he hath left to keep the house: and all Israel shall hear that thou hast made thy father to stink, and all the hands that are with thee shall be the more bold.

And they made Absalom a tent upon the housetop: and Absalom slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

At that time, when Ahithophel gave counsel, it was as if one had asked of God: so all the counsel of Ahithophel was both with David and with Absalom.
(2 Samuel)
Chapter 17
Ahitophel’s futile advice and desperate end.

And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, I will number twelve thousand men, and will arise and pursue David by night.

And I will overtake him, because he is faint and lukewarm. And it shall come to pass, when I have made him afraid, that all the people that are with him shall flee, that I will smite the king alone.

And bring all the people again unto thee. And it shall come to pass, when every man is brought unto thee according to thy desire, that all the people shall dwell in peace.

It seemed good unto Absalom, and to all the elders of Israel.

And Absalom said, Let Hushai the Arachite also call, and hear what he saith.

And when Hushai came in unto Absalom, Absalom said unto him, Ahithophel hath spoken these things: say thou, shall we do it, or shall we not do it?

And Hushai said unto Absalom, It is not good counsel that Ahithophel hath given this time.

And Hushai said again, Thou knowest thy father well, and his men, that they are strong, and of a fierce spirit, like a bear whose young are taken in a field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not fail with the people.

Behold, he hath hid himself perhaps in a pit, or in some other place. And it shall come to pass, when the first evil shall come, that there shall be a cry, saying, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom,

Then every man that is a warrior, and that hath a heart like a lion, shall be despondent. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is strong, and that there are warriors with him.

But this I counsel, that thou gather unto thee all Israel, from Dan even unto Beer-sheba, as the sand of the sea; and that thou set thy person among them.

So we will overtake him in what place we find him, and will come upon him as the dew falls upon the earth, that we will not leave one in him, nor in any of his men.

And if he gather himself into a city, then all Israel shall cast ropes upon that city, and pull it into the river, that there be not a pebble found in it.

Then said Absalom and all Israel, The counsel of Hushai the Arachite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. And the LORD sent to prevent the good counsel of Ahithophel, that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

And Hushai said unto Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel: but I have counseled thus and thus.

Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Dwell not in the wilderness overnight, but pass over, lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

And Jonathan and Ahimaaz sat by the well of Rogel, and a maid went and told them. And they went and told king David: for they were not to be seen coming into the city.

And a lad saw them, and told Absalom. And the two went in haste, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; thither they went in.

And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s hole, and spread gruel over it, that it should not be known.

And when Absalom’s servants came into the house to the woman, they said: Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They went over the brook. And when they sought, and found not, they returned to Jerusalem.

And when they were departed, they came up out of the well, and went and told David the king, and said unto David, Arise, and pass over the waters in haste: for thus and thus hath Ahithophel counseled against you.

Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and passed over Jordan, until the morning light: and there was not one lacking that passed not over Jordan.

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not departed from, he saddled his ass, and arose, and went home to his own city, and filled his house, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in his father’s sepulchre.

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

And Absalom had set Amasa in Joab’s stead over the host. And Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Jethra, an Israelite, which lay with Abigail the daughter of Nahah, the sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

And Israel and