1 A nd Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me, I pray, choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David to-night;

Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12, 000 men, and I will leave and go after David tonight.

2 a nd I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only;

I will come upon him while he is tired and weak. I will fill him with fear so that all the people who are with him will run away. Then I will kill the king alone

3 a nd I will bring back all the people to thee. The man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: all the people shall be in peace.

and return all the people to you. All will return if the man you want to kill is dead. Then all the people will be at peace.”

4 A nd the saying was right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.

The plan pleased Absalom and all the leaders of Israel.

5 A nd Absalom said, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and we will hear also what he says.

Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also. Let us hear what he has to say.”

6 A nd Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom spoke to him saying, Ahithophel has spoken after this manner: shall we carry out his word? If not, speak thou.

When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has said this. Should we do as he says? If not, tell us.”

7 A nd Hushai said to Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.

So Hushai said to Absalom, “This time what Ahithophel has said to do is not good.”

8 A nd Hushai said, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are of exasperated spirit, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

Hushai said, “You know your father and his men. They are powerful and angry, like a bear robbed of her young ones in the field. And your father is a very able man of war. He will not stay with the people during the night.

9 B ehold, he is hid now in some pit, or some such place; and it will come to pass, when some of them fall at the first, whoever heareth it will say, There has been slaughter among the people that follow Absalom,

He has now hidden himself in one of the caves, or in another place. When some of the people are killed in the first battle, whoever hears it will say, ‘There have been many people killed who follow Absalom.’

10 a nd even the valiant man whose heart is as the heart of a lion shall utterly melt; for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man, and they that are with him are valiant men.

Even the one who has strength of heart like the heart of a lion will be afraid. For all Israel knows that your father is a powerful man, and that those who are with him are men with strength of heart.

11 B ut I counsel that all Israel be speedily gathered to thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

But I say that all Israel should be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as much as the sand by the sea. And you yourself should go into battle.

12 A nd we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

So we will find David wherever he is. We will fall on him like water falls on the ground in the early morning. And not he or any of the men with him will be left.

13 A nd if he withdraw into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the torrent, until there be not one small stone found there.

If he runs into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city. We will pull it into the valley until not even a small stone is left there.”

14 A nd Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. And Jehovah had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that Jehovah might bring evil upon Absalom.

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The words of Hushai the Archite are better than the words of Ahithophel.” In this way the Lord had planned to destroy the good leading of Ahithophel, so He might bring trouble to Absalom. David Is Told to Leave

15 A nd Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the religious leaders, “This is what Ahithophel said that Absalom and the leaders of Israel should do. And this is what I have said they should do.

16 A nd now send quickly, and tell David saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

So be quick to send someone to tell David, ‘Do not stay the night in the desert beside the place where the Jordan is crossed. But cross over, or the king and all the people with him will be destroyed.’”

17 A nd Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; and the maid went and told them; and they went and told king David, for they might not be seen to come into the city.

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at Enrogel. And a woman servant would go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David. For they could not be seen coming into the city.

18 B ut a lad saw them, and told Absalom. Then they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down there.

But a boy saw them, and told Absalom. So the two of them left in a hurry and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in the open space in the center of his house. And they went down into it.

19 A nd the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn on it; and the thing was not known.

Then the woman took the covering and spread it over the well’s mouth, and spread grain on it, so nothing was known of it.

20 A nd Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, and said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They have gone over the brook of water. And they sought and could not find, and returned to Jerusalem.

Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman answered, “They have crossed the river.” And after looking and not finding them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 A nd it came to pass after they had departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David; and they said to David, Arise and pass quickly over the water; for thus has Ahithophel counselled against you.

When they had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, “Be quick to get ready and cross over the water. For Ahithophel has told them to come against you.”

22 T hen David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan; by the morning light there was not one of them missing that had not gone over the Jordan.

So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By the light of morning, not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 A nd when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose and went to his house, to his city, and gave charge to his household, and hanged himself, and he died; and he was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

When Ahithophel saw that his words were not followed, he got onto his donkey and went home to his city. He told those of his family what they must do, and he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s grave.

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

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

25 A nd Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab; which Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jithra the Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jithra the Israelite, who went in to Nahash’s daughter Abigal, the sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.

26 A nd Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

And Israel and Absalom set up their tents in the land of Gilead.

27 A nd as soon as David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

When David had come to Mahanaim, he met Nahash’s son Shobi from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Ammiel’s son Machir from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.

28 b rought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched, and beans, and lentils, and parched,

They brought him beds, washing pots, dishes, grain, flour, seeds,

29 a nd honey, and cream, and sheep, and cheese of kine to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.

honey, sour milk, sheep, and cheese from the cattle, for David and his men to eat. For they said, “The people are hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert.”