2 Samuel 17 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Hushai’s Counsel

Then, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight.

2Sa 17:2“I will [fn]strike while he is weary and [fn]exhausted, and terrify him; and all the people with him will flee [in terror]. Then I will attack the king alone,

2Sa 17:3

2Sa 17:3and I will bring all the people [who follow David] back to you. [fn]The return of everyone depends on the [death of the] man you are seeking; then all the people will be at peace [and accept you as king].”

2Sa 17:4

2Sa 17:4So the plan [fn]pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

2Sa 17:5

Nevertheless, Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”

2Sa 17:6

2Sa 17:6When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has advised this [plan of action]. Should we do what he says? If not, you speak [and explain why not].”

2Sa 17:7

2Sa 17:7So Hushai said to Absalom, “Ahithophel has not given good advice this time.”

2Sa 17:8

2Sa 17:8And Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are brave men, and they are [fn]enraged and fierce, like a bear deprived of her cubs in the field. Your father is a [shrewd] man of war, and will not spend the night with the people [knowing that you seek his life].

2Sa 17:9

2Sa 17:9“Behold, he has hidden himself [even] now in one of the ravines or in another place; and when some of [fn]your troops fall at the first attack, whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a defeat among the people who follow Absalom.’

2Sa 17:10

2Sa 17:10“And even the one who is brave, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart and melt away; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are brave men.

2Sa 17:11

2Sa 17:11“But I advise that all [the men of] Israel be summoned to you, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], like the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle.

2Sa 17:12

2Sa 17:12“So shall we come upon David in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls [unseen and unheard] on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

2Sa 17:13

2Sa 17:13“If he retreats into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the ravine until not even a pebble [of it] is found there.”

2Sa 17:14

2Sa 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to thwart the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the LORD could bring disaster upon Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

2Sa 17:15

Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “This is the advice that Ahithophel gave to Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is the advice that I have given.

2Sa 17:16

2Sa 17:16“Now then, send word quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the [fn]fords [on the west side of the Jordan] in the wilderness, but by all means cross over [to the east side of the river], or else the king and all the people with him will be destroyed [if Ahithophel is allowed by Absalom to lead an attack].’”

2Sa 17:17

2Sa 17:17Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [the priests’ sons] were staying at [fn]En-rogel, and a maidservant [appearing to go for water] would go and tell them [what was happening], and they would go [secretly] and inform King David; for they could not [allow themselves to] be seen coming into the city [of Jerusalem].

2Sa 17:18

2Sa 17:18But a boy saw them and told Absalom; so the two of them left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and [with his permission] they went down into it.

2Sa 17:19

2Sa 17:19And the woman [of the house] took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain on it; so nothing was discovered.

2Sa 17:20

2Sa 17:20Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have crossed over the brook.” When they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

2Sa 17:21

After they left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well and went and informed King David, and said to David, “Arise and cross over the [fn]Jordan River quickly, for Ahithophel has advised [an attack] against you.”

2Sa 17:22

2Sa 17:22Then David and all the people who were with him departed and crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not even one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

2Sa 17:23

Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

2Sa 17:24

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

2Sa 17:25

2Sa 17:25Absalom put Amasa in command of the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named [fn]Ithra the Israelite, who had married Abigail the daughter of Nahash, [the half sister of David and] the sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

2Sa 17:26

2Sa 17:26So Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

2Sa 17:27

When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

2Sa 17:28

2Sa 17:28brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, broad beans, lentils, and [other] roasted grain,

2Sa 17:29

2Sa 17:29honey, cream, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”