| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"Give me 12,000 men! I'll leave tonight and pursue David," Ahithophel advised Absalom. | 1Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out in pursuit of David tonight. |
| 2"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king. | 2I will attack him while he is weak and weary, throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will scatter. I will strike down only the king |
| 3Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly." | 3and bring all the people back to you. When everyone returns except the man you're seeking, all the people will be at peace." |
| 4Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, | 4This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel. |
| 5Absalom replied, "Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!" | 5Then Absalom said, "Summon Hushai the Archite also. Let's hear what he has to say as well." |
| 6When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, "Here's what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!" | 6So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom told him: "Ahithophel offered this proposal. Should we carry out his proposal? If not, what do you say?" |
| 7"Ahithophel's advice is not best at this time," Hushai suggested to Absalom. | 7Hushai replied to Absalom, "The advice Ahithophel has given this time is not good." |
| 8"You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night. | 8Hushai continued, "You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier who won't spend the night with the people. |
| 9Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, 'Absalom's army is losing!' | 9He's probably already hiding in one of the caves or some other place. If some of our troops fall first, someone is sure to hear and say, 'There's been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.' |
| 10Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! | 10Then, even a brave man with the heart of a lion will melt because all Israel knows that your father and the valiant men with him are warriors. |
| 11So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle! | 11Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba--as numerous as the sand by the sea--be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle. |
| 12We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive! | 12Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left of all the men with him. |
| 13If he escapes into a city, we'll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won't leave a single stone left in the valley!" | 13If he retreats to some city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag its stones into the valley until not even a pebble can be found there." |
| 14Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's!" But the LORD had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the LORD could bring Absalom to destruction. | 14Since the LORD had decreed that Ahithophel's good advice be undermined in order to bring about Absalom's ruin, Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's advice." |
| 15So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, | 15Hushai then told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, "This is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I advised. |
| 16"Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage will survive." | 16Now send someone quickly and tell David, 'Don't spend the night at the wilderness ford of the Jordan, but be sure to cross over, or the king and all the people with him will be destroyed.'" |
| 17Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. | 17Jonathan 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, because they dared not be seen entering the city. |
| 18But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. | 18However, a young man did see them and informed 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. |
| 19The man's wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place. | 19Then his wife took the cover, placed it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on it so nobody would know anything. |
| 20When Absalom's servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They've already crossed the brook," the woman answered. So Absalom's servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn't find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. | 20Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?"" They passed by toward the water," the woman replied to them. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. |
| 21A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, "Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you…" | 21After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, "Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you." |
| 22So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River. Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn's first light. | 22So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one who had not crossed the Jordan. |
| 23Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged himself. After his death he was buried in his father's tomb. | 23When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father's tomb. |
| 24Later, David arrived at Mahanaim. Absalom and all of the Israelis who supported him crossed the Jordan River. | 24David had arrived at Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. |
| 25Absalom had installed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. His mother was Abigail, a daughter of Nahash and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.) | 25Now Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in Joab's place. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite; Ithra had married Abigail daughter of Nahash. Abigail was a sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother. |
| 26Absalom and the Israelis with him camped in the territory of Gilead. | 26And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. |
| 27When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi (Nahash's son from the Ammonite town of Rabbah), Makir (Ammiel's son from Lo-debar), and Barzillai (from Rogelim in Gilead) were already there. | 27When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim |
| 28They brought along bedding, bowls, clay basins, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grains, beans, peas, | 28brought beds, basins, and pottery items. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, |
| 29honey, cheeses, sheep, and cheese made from cow's milk for David and his entourage because they had been reasoning, "The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the wilderness." | 29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, "The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the desert." |
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