And I willcomeupon him while he is weary and weakhanded, and willmake him afraid: and all the peoplethat are with him shallflee; and I willsmite the kingonly:
And whenHushai was come to Absalom, Absalomspakeunto him, saying, Ahithophelhathspokenafterthismanner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speakthou.
For, saidHushai, thouknowest thy father and his men, thatthey be mighty men, and they be chafed in theirminds, as a bearrobbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodgewith the people.
Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in someotherplace: and it willcome to pass, whensome of them be overthrown at the first, thatwhosoeverheareth it will say, There is a slaughteramong the peoplethatfollowAbsalom.
And he alsothat is valiant, whoseheart is as the heart of a lion, shallutterlymelt: for all Israelknoweththat thy father is a mighty man, and theywhich be with him are valiant men.
Therefore I counselthat all Israel be generallygathereduntothee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sandthat is by the sea for multitude; and thatthou go to battle in thine own person.
So shall we comeupon him in someplacewhere he shall be found, and we willlightupon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him thereshall not be left so much as one.
Moreover, if he be gotteninto a city, thenshall all Israelbringropes to thatcity, and we willdraw it into the river, untilthere be not one smallstonefoundthere.
And Absalom and all the men of Israelsaid, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is betterthan the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the goodcounsel of Ahithophel, to the intentthat the LORDmightbringeviluponAbsalom.
ThensaidHushaiuntoZadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did AhithophelcounselAbsalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thushave I counselled.
Now thereforesendquickly, and tellDavid, saying, Lodge not thisnight in the plains of the wilderness, but speedilypassover; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the peoplethat are with him.
Now Jonathan and Ahimaazstayed by Enrogel; for theymight not be seen to comeinto the city: and a wenchwent and toldthem; and theywent and toldkingDavid.
Nevertheless a lad saw them, and toldAbsalom: but theywentboth of themawayquickly, and came to a man’shouse in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whithertheywentdown.
And whenAbsalom’sservantscame to the woman to the house, theysaid, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the womansaiduntothem, They be goneover the brook of water. And whenthey had sought and could not findthem, theyreturned to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, aftertheyweredeparted, thattheycame up out of the well, and went and toldkingDavid, and saiduntoDavid, Arise, and passquicklyover the water: for thushathAhithophelcounselledagainst you.
ThenDavidarose, and all the peoplethatwerewith him, and theypassedoverJordan: by the morninglighttherelacked not one of themthat was not goneoverJordan.
And whenAhithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hangedhimself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
And AbsalommadeAmasacaptain of the hostinstead of Joab: whichAmasa was a man’s son, whosename was Ithra an Israelite, thatwent in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to ZeruiahJoab’smother.
And it came to pass, whenDavid was come to Mahanaim, thatShobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the peoplethatwerewith him, to eat: for theysaid, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.