Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice 1 UST Then Ahithophel said to Absalom,“Please allow me to pick 12, 000 of our best soldiers so that I can lead them tonight to chase David. BSB BSB: Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
2 UST When we catch up to him, he will be tired from traveling and physically weak. When our soldiers appear, this will terrify him. The other people who are with him will run away{ and not fight against us}. We will only need to kill the king. BSB BSB: I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king
3 UST After that, the others who left Jerusalem with him will return to the city and accept you as their king. If we just kill the man you want to catch, that will be enough to get all the others to come back. It will not be necessary to hurt anyone else.” BSB BSB: and bring all the people back to you as a bride returning to her husband. You seek the life of only one man; then all the people will be at peace.”
4 UST Absalom and all the Israelite leaders who were with him thought that it would be good to do what Ahithophel had recommended. BSB BSB: This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5 UST But then Absalom said,“Ask Hushai to come and speak to us as well. We should find out whether he recommends anything different that we should consider.” BSB BSB: Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite as well, and let us hear what he too has to say.”
6 UST When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had suggested. Then he asked Hushai,“What do you think we should do? If you do not think that we should do what Ahithophel advises, then tell us what you think we should do instead.” BSB BSB: So Hushai came to Absalom, who told him, “Ahithophel has spoken this proposal. Should we carry it out? If not, what do you say?”
7 UST Hushai replied,“This time, what Ahithophel has suggested is not good advice.” BSB BSB: Hushai replied, “This time the advice of Ahithophel is not sound.”
8 UST He continued,“You know that your father and the men who are with him are elite soldiers. You know that they must be very angry, like a wild mother bear whose cubs someone has stolen from her. Furthermore, your father has fought in many battles{, so he knows what he should do now}. He will not spend the night with the crowd of people who left Jerusalem with him. BSB BSB: He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.
9 UST Right now he is probably already hiding in a cave or in some other safe place. If Ahithophel leads soldiers out to attack David’ s soldiers, David’ s soldiers will certainly kill some of them at the start of the battle. When people hear about that, they will say,‘David’ s soldiers are slaughtering Absalom’ s soldiers!’ BSB BSB: Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’
10 UST Then your other soldiers, even if they are as fierce as lions, will become very afraid. After all, everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great soldier and that the soldiers who are with him are very brave. BSB BSB: Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.
11 UST So this is what I recommend. You should really summon the entire Israelite army. Have the solders come here even if they live as far away as Dan{ in the far north} or Beersheba{ in the far south}. You will have too many soldiers to count, like the grains of sand on the seashore.{ Wait until they come, and then} you yourself should lead the army into battle. BSB BSB: Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
12 UST We will find your father, wherever he is, and our great army will overwhelm his smaller army, just as dew covers the entire ground. Neither he nor any of the soldiers who are with him will survive. BSB BSB: Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain.
13 UST If he decides to retreat into some city, all our soldiers will bring ropes to that city and pull it down into the valley below. As a result, not one stone will remain on top of the hill where that city was!” BSB BSB: If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.”
14 UST Absalom and the other Israelite leaders who were with him decided,“What Hushai suggests is better than what Ahithophel suggested.” Yahweh led them not to accept Ahithophel’ s advice, which actually would have been better for Absalom. As a result, Yahweh caused a great defeat for Absalom. BSB BSB: Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
Hushai’s Warning Saves David (Psalm 55:1–23)
15 UST Then Hushai{ went secretly and} told the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what both he and Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the Israelite leaders. BSB BSB: So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised.
16 UST Then he said to them,“{ There is still a risk that Absalom might decide to do what Ahithophel suggested, so} send a message quickly to David. Tell him not to stay overnight at the place where people can walk across the Jordan River. Instead, he and his soldiers must cross the Jordan River immediately. Otherwise, Absalom and his army may come and kill them.” BSB BSB: Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”
17 UST The priests’ two sons, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, were staying near En Rogel{, outside Jerusalem}. They did not dare to enter the city{, because if someone saw them, he would report it to Absalom}. Instead, they had arranged for a woman who served the two priests to come and report to them what was happening. They would then go and report it to King David. BSB BSB: Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be seen entering the city.
18 UST But a young man saw them at En Rogel, and he went and reported this to Absalom.{ They knew the young man had recognized them,} so both of them left quickly and went to the house of a man who lived in the city of Bahurim. That man had a well in his courtyard, and he let Jonathan and Ahimaaz go down into the well to hide. BSB BSB: But a young man did see them and told Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.
19 UST The man’ s wife took a cloth and covered the opening of the well. Then she scattered grain on top of it{ to make it look as if this was the place where she dried the grain in the sun}. As a result, it was not evident that there was a well beneath the cloth. BSB BSB: Then the man’s wife took a covering, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain over it so nobody would know a thing.
20 UST Some of Absalom’ s soldiers learned in what direction the two men had gone. So they went{ in that direction} and came to the house{ where they were hiding}. They asked the wife,“Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” She replied,“They went across that stream over there.” So the soldiers went in that direction and searched for them. But they could not find them, so they went back to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 UST After the soldiers had gone, the two men came out of the well and went and reported to King David. They told him,“Ahithophel has encouraged Absalom to attack you immediately. So you must get all these people across the Jordan River quickly!” BSB BSB: After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
22 UST So David and all his soldiers quickly started to cross the Jordan River, and by the next morning they had all crossed to the other side. BSB BSB: So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 UST When Ahithophel realized that Absalom was not going to do what he had recommended,{ he knew that David would defeat Absalom, so} he put a saddle on his donkey and returned home to his own city. He gave to his family instructions about what to do with his possessions, and then he hanged himself{ because he knew that otherwise David would kill him as a traitor}. People buried his body in the same tomb where people had buried his father. BSB BSB: When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
24 UST David and his soldiers arrived at Mahanaim. At the same time, Absalom and all his soldiers also crossed the Jordan River. BSB BSB: Then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
25 UST Now Absalom had appointed Amasa to be the commander of his army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of an Israelite man whose name was Ithra. Amasa’ s mother was Abigail. She was the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab’ s mother Zeruiah. BSB BSB: Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.
26 UST Absalom and his Israelite soldiers set up their military camp in the region of Gilead. BSB BSB: So the Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.
27 UST When David and his soldiers arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from the Ammonite city of Rabbah, Machir son of Ammiel from the city of Lo Debar, and Barzillai from the city of Rogelim in Gilead came to them. BSB BSB: When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.
28 UST They brought mats for them to sleep on and bowls and clay pots that they could use to prepare and serve food. They also brought wheat and barley, as raw grains, as flour, and as roasted grains. They also brought beans and lentils, some raw and some roasted. BSB BSB: They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,
29 UST They also brought honey, curds, sheep, and cow’ s cheese. They knew that David and his soldiers would need to have these things to eat because they would be hungry and thirsty and tired from marching through a desolate area. BSB BSB: honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.