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2 Samuel 15:1-37 — Absalom's Conspiracy

2Sam.15.1-37

¹After this, Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him . ²Absalom would rise early and stand beside the road to the gate. Whenever any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no one deputized by the king to hear you.” ⁴Absalom would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land! Then every man who has a dispute or case could come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵And whenever a man came near to bow down to him, he would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶Absalom did this to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. ⁷At the end of forty years , Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and fulfill my vow that I vowed to the LORD in Hebron. ⁸For your servant vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, 'If the LORD will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'" ⁹The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the ram's horn, then you shall say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron!'” ¹¹Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They were invited and went innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. ¹²While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city, Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom kept increasing. ¹³A messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” ¹⁴Then David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Hurry to leave, lest he overtake us quickly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵The king's servants said to the king, “According to whatever my lord the king chooses, here are your servants.” ¹⁶So the king went out, and his entire household followed him. But the king left behind ten concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷The king went out, and all the people followed him, and they stopped at the last house . ¹⁸All his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king. ¹⁹Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your place. ²⁰You came only yesterday, and today should I make you wander with us, while I go wherever I may go? Return, and take your brothers back with you. May steadfast love and faithfulness be with you." ²¹But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” ²²David said to Ittai, “Go and pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³All the countryside was weeping with a loud voice as all the people were passing by. The king crossed over the brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness. ²⁴And behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up, until all the people had finished passing out of the city. ²⁵The king said to Zadok, "Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. ²⁶But if he says this: 'I have no delight in you,' behold, here I am; let him do to me as seems good in his eyes." ²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace, with your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me." ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem, and they stayed there. ³⁰But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up, with his head covered and walking barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹Now someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” ³²When David came to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his tunic torn and earth on his head. ³³David said to him, "If you pass on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father's servant in the past, so now I will be your servant,' then you will defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests there with you? So whatever word you hear from the king's house, you shall tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶Behold, their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz for Zadok and Jonathan for Abiathar. Send to me by them everything that you hear." ³⁷So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

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4/11/2026

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