The Living Bible (103 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
David was just past the top of the hill when Ziba, the manager of Mephibosheth’s household, caught up with him. He was leading two donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of grapes, and a small barrel of wine.
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“What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.
And Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for your people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat; the wine is to be taken with you into the wilderness for any who become faint.”
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“And where is Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.
“He stayed at Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Now I’ll get to be king! Today I will get back the kingdom of my father, Saul.’”
*
4
“In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything he owns.”
“Thank you, thank you, sir,” Ziba replied.
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As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei, the son of Gera, a member of Saul’s family.
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He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded them!
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“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for murdering King Saul and his family; you stole his throne and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom! At last you will taste some of your own medicine, you murderer!”
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“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai demanded. “Let me go over and strike off his head!”
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“No!” the king said. “If the Lord has told him to curse me, who am I to say no?
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My own son is trying to kill me, and this Benjaminite is merely cursing me. Leave him alone, for no doubt the Lord has told him to do it.
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And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses.”
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So David and his men continued on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.
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The king and all those who were with him were weary by the time they reached Bahurim, so they stayed there awhile and rested.
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Meanwhile, Absalom and his men arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel.
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When David’s friend, Hushai the Archite, arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom.
“Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”
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“Is this the way to treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
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“Because I work for the man who is chosen by the Lord and by Israel,” Hushai replied.
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“And anyway, why shouldn’t I? I helped your father and now I will help you!”
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Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What shall I do next?”
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Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s wives, for he has left them here to keep the house. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted him beyond the possibility of reconciliation, and they will all close ranks behind you.”
*
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So a tent was erected on the roof of the palace where everybody could see it, and Absalom went into the tent to lie with his father’s wives.
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(Absalom did whatever Ahithophel told him to, just as David had; for every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.)
“Now,” Ahithophel said, “give me twelve thousand men to start out after David tonight.
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I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged, and he and his troops will be thrown into a panic and everyone will run away; and I will kill only the king and let all those who are with him live, and restore them to you.”
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Absalom and all the elders of Israel approved of the plan,
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but Absalom said, “Ask Hushai the Archite what he thinks about this.”
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When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said.
“What is your opinion?” Absalom asked him. “Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, speak up.”
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“Well,” Hushai replied, “this time I think Ahithophel has made a mistake.
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You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors and are probably as upset as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And your father is an old soldier and isn’t going to be spending the night among the troops;
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he has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops and everyone will start shouting that your men are being slaughtered.
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Then even the bravest of them, though they have hearts of lions, will be paralyzed with fear; for all Israel knows what a mighty man your father is and how courageous his soldiers are.
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“What I suggest is that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan and Beersheba, so that you will have a huge force. And I think that you should personally lead the troops.
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Then when we find him we can destroy his entire army so that not one of them is left alive.
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And if David has escaped into some city, you will have the entire army of Israel there at your command, and we can take ropes and drag the walls of the city into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”
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Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had arranged to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster upon Absalom!
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Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said and what he himself had suggested instead.
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“Quick!” he told them. “Find David and urge him not to stay at the ford of the Jordan River tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond; otherwise he will die, and his entire army with him.”
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Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to carry to them the messages they were to take to King David.
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But a boy saw them leaving En-rogel to go to David, and he told Absalom about it. Meanwhile, they escaped to Bahurim where a man hid them inside a well in his backyard.
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The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well with grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
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When Absalom’s men arrived and asked her if she had seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan, she said they had crossed the brook and were gone. They looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.
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Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. “Quick!” they told him, “cross the Jordan tonight!” And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed.
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So David and all the people with him went across during the night and were all on the other bank before dawn.
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Meanwhile, Ahithophel—publicly disgraced when Absalom refused his advice—saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself; so he died and was buried beside his father.
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David soon arrived at Mahanaim. Meanwhile, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading the men across the Jordan River.
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Absalom had appointed Amasa as general of the army, replacing Joab. (Amasa was Joab’s second cousin; his father was Ithra, an Ishmaelite, and his mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, who was the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah.)
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Absalom and the Israeli army now camped in the land of Gilead.
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When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi (son of Nahash of Rabbah, an Ammonite) and Machir (son of Ammiel of Lodebar) and Barzillai (a Gileadite of Rogelim).
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They brought him and those who were with him mats to sleep on, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter, and cheese. For they said, “You must be very tired and hungry and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”
David now appointed regimental colonels and company commanders over his troops.
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A third were placed under Joab’s brother, Abishai (the son of Zeruiah); and a third under Ittai, the Gittite. The king planned to lead the army himself, but his men objected strongly.
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“You mustn’t do it,” they said, “for if we have to turn and run, and half of us die, it will make no difference to them—they will be looking only for you. You are worth ten thousand of us, and it is better that you stay here in the city and send us help if we need it.”
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“Well, whatever you think best,” the king finally replied. So he stood at the gate of the city as all the troops passed by.
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And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give them this charge.
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So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim,
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and the Israeli troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter and twenty thousand men laid down their lives that day.
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The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men disappeared in the forest than were killed.
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During the battle Absalom came upon some of David’s men and as he fled
*
on his mule, it went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving him dangling in the air.
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One of David’s men saw him and told Joab.
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“What? You saw him there and didn’t kill him?” Joab demanded. “I would have rewarded you handsomely and made you a commissioned officer.”
*
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“For a million dollars I wouldn’t do it,” the man replied. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please don’t harm young Absalom.’
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And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son (and the king would certainly find out who did it), you yourself would be the first to accuse me.”
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“Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into the heart of Absalom as he dangled alive from the oak.
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Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and finished him off.
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Then Joab blew the trumpet, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel.
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They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And the army of Israel fled to their homes.
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(Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no sons to carry on my name.” He called it “Absalom’s Monument,” as it is still known today.)
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Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to King David with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemy Absalom.”
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“No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger some other time.”
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Then Joab said to a man from Cush, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
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But Ahimaaz pleaded with Joab, “Please let me go too.”
“No, we don’t need you now, my boy,” Joab replied. “There is no further news to send.”
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“Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
And Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” Then Ahimaaz took a shortcut across the plain and got there ahead of the man from Cush.
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David was sitting at the gate of the city. When the watchman climbed the stairs to his post at the top of the wall, he saw a lone man running toward them.
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He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer,
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the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one.”
And the king replied, “He will have more news.”
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“The first man looks like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
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Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has destroyed the rebels who dared to stand against you.”
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“What of young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
“When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of shouting; but I didn’t know what was happening,”
*
Ahimaaz answered.
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“Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
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Then the man from Cush arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today Jehovah has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
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“What about young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king demanded.
And the man replied, “May all of your enemies be as that young man is!”
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Then the king broke into tears, and went up to his room over the gate, crying as he went. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I could have died for you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
