¹And it came to pass after that, that Absalom acquired chariots and horses and fifty men who ran before him. ²And Absalom rose early and stood at the side of the road at the gate. And whenever any man who had a dispute was about to go to the king for a verdict, Absalom would call to him and ask, “From which city are you?” And he would reply, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³And Absalom would say to him, “Look, your contentions are right and proper, but you do not have anyone from the king to hear you.” ⁴And Absalom would say, “If only I were appointed a judge in the land! Then everyone who has a dispute or a lawsuit would come to me, and I would do him justice.” ⁵And it would come to pass, when a man approached to prostrate himself to him, that he would stretch out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶And Absalom acted in this way towards all of Israel that came to the king for judgment, and Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel. ⁷And it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to pay my vow in Hebron which I made to the Lord. ⁸For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur in Aramaea and said, ‘If the Lord decidedly brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ” ⁹And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰Then Absalom sent spies among all the tribes of Israel and said, “When you hear the sound of the ramshorn, you will say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron.’ ” ¹¹And with Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were called up, but who went in their naivety, and who didn't know anything. ¹²And Absalom sent Ahithophel the Gilonite, an adviser to David, from his city – from Giloh – while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was powerful, and the people who were with Absalom became more and more numerous. ¹³Then an informant came to David and said, “The heart of the men of Israel is behind Absalom.” ¹⁴At this David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Get up and let us flee, for we won't be left with a survivor in confronting Absalom. Get going quickly or he will quickly catch up with us and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the blade of the sword.” ¹⁵And the king's servants said to the king, “Whatever my lord the king chooses to do, here we are as your servants.” ¹⁶And the king departed, and all his household went in his footsteps, and the king left the ten concubine ladies to keep the house. ¹⁷So the king departed with all the people in his footsteps, and they stopped at a remote house. ¹⁸And all his servants crossed over next to him, as did all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites. Six hundred men who had followed in his footsteps from Gath crossed over alongside the king. ¹⁹And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you too going with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your place. ²⁰You arrived yesterday, so should I cause you to wander around today in going with us? For I am going wherever I may go. Go back and take your brothers back. May kindness and truth be with you.” ²¹But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives and by the life of my lord the king, wherever my lord the king may be – whether in death or in life – there your servant will certainly be.” ²²But David said to Ittai, “Go and cross back over.” So Ittai the Gittite crossed back over, with all his men and all the children who were with him. ²³And the whole land wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over, and the king crossed over at the Kidron Brook, and all the people crossed over along the road through the desert. ²⁴And there were also Zadok and all the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God, and they put the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered burnt offerings, until all the people from the city had finished crossing over. ²⁵And the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find grace in the Lord's eyes, he will bring me back and show me it and his dwelling place. ²⁶But if he says this: ‘I do not take pleasure in you’, then here I am; let him do to me whatever is right in his sight.” ²⁷And the king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer? Go back to the city in peace with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan Abiathar's son – your two sons with you. ²⁸Look, I will wait at the crossings in the desert until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar brought the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they stayed there. ³⁰And David went up by the ascent of the Olives, weeping as he went up, with his head covered, and he went barefoot. And of all the people who were with him, each one covered his head, and they went up weeping as they did so. ³¹Then David received a report which said, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please frustrate Ahithophel's plan.” ³²Then when David was going to the summit where he worshipped God, it so happened that Hushai the Archite came towards him with his tunic torn and soil on his head. ³³And David said to him, “If you come over with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But if you go back to the city and say to Absalom, ‘O king, I will be your servant; I was your father's servant, and as I was then, so now I am your servant’, then you will frustrate Ahithophel's plan for me. ³⁵For will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? And it will come to pass that you will tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests everything you hear from the king's house. ³⁶Moreover their two sons are there with them – Ahimaaz Zadok's and Jonathan Abiathar's – and you will send word to me through their intermediacy of everything you hear.” ³⁷So Hushai David's friend went to the city, and Absalom arrived in Jerusalem.