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2 Samuel 15:13-31
New English Translation

David Flees from Jerusalem

13 Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The men of Israel are loyal to Absalom!”[a] 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come on![b] Let’s escape![c] Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring[d] disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.”[e] 15 The king’s servants replied to the king, “We will do whatever our lord the king decides.”[f]

16 So the king and all the members of his royal court[g] set out on foot, though the king left behind ten concubines[h] to attend to the palace. 17 The king and all the people set out on foot, pausing[i] at a spot[j] some distance away. 18 All his servants were leaving with him,[k] along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites—some 600 men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with[l] the king.

19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come with us? Go back and stay with the new[m] king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own country.[n] 20 It seems as if you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men[o] with you. May genuine loyal love[p] protect[q] you!”

21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means death or life, there I[r] will be as well!” 22 So David said to Ittai, “Come along then.”[s] So Ittai the Gittite went along,[t] accompanied by all his men and all the dependents[u] who were with him.

23 All the land was weeping loudly[v] as all these people were leaving.[w] As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving[x] on the road that leads to the desert. 24 Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving[y] the city.

25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s sight he will bring me back and enable me to see both it and his dwelling place again. 26 However, if he should say, ‘I do not take pleasure in you,’ then he will deal with me in a way that he considers appropriate.”[z]

27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer?[aa] Go back to the city in peace! Your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan may go with you and Abiathar.[ab] 28 Look, I will be waiting at the fords of the desert until word from you[ac] reaches me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there.

30 As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. All the people who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David[ad] had been told, “Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom.” So David prayed,[ae] “Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 15:13 tn Heb “the heart of the men of Israel is with Absalom.”
  2. 2 Samuel 15:14 tn Heb “Arise!”
  3. 2 Samuel 15:14 tn Heb “let’s flee.”
  4. 2 Samuel 15:14 tn Heb “thrust.”
  5. 2 Samuel 15:14 tn Heb “and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
  6. 2 Samuel 15:15 tn Heb “according to all that my lord the king will choose, behold your servants!”
  7. 2 Samuel 15:16 tn Heb “and all his house.”
  8. 2 Samuel 15:16 tn Heb “women, concubines.”
  9. 2 Samuel 15:17 tn Heb “and they stood.”
  10. 2 Samuel 15:17 tn Heb “house.”
  11. 2 Samuel 15:18 tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”
  12. 2 Samuel 15:18 tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”
  13. 2 Samuel 15:19 tn The word “new” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation to make it clear that David refers to Absalom, not himself.
  14. 2 Samuel 15:19 tn Heb “place.”
  15. 2 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “brothers,” but see v. 22.
  16. 2 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “loyal love and truth.” The expression is a hendiadys.
  17. 2 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “be with.”
  18. 2 Samuel 15:21 tn Heb “your servant.”
  19. 2 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “Come and cross over.”
  20. 2 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “crossed over.”
  21. 2 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “all the little ones.”
  22. 2 Samuel 15:23 tn Heb “with a great voice.”
  23. 2 Samuel 15:23 tn Heb “crossing over.”
  24. 2 Samuel 15:23 tn Heb “crossing near the face of.”
  25. 2 Samuel 15:24 tn Heb “crossing from.”
  26. 2 Samuel 15:26 tn Heb “as [is] good in his eyes.”
  27. 2 Samuel 15:27 tn The Greek tradition understands the Hebrew word as an imperative (“see”). Most Greek mss have ἴδετε (idete); the Lucianic recension has βλέπε (blepe). It could just as well be taken as a question: “Don’t you see what is happening?” The present translation takes the word as a question, with the implication that Zadok is a priest and not a prophet (i.e., “seer”) and therefore unable to know what the future holds.
  28. 2 Samuel 15:27 tn Heb “And Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, two of your sons, with you.” The pronominal suffix on the last word is plural, referring to Zadok and Abiathar.
  29. 2 Samuel 15:28 tn The pronoun is plural, referring to Zadok and Abiathar.
  30. 2 Samuel 15:31 tc The translation follows 4QSama, part of the Greek tradition, the Syriac Peshitta, Targum, and Vulgate in reading “and to David,” rather than MT וְדָוִד (vedavid, “and David”). As Driver points out, the Hebrew verb הִגִּיד (higgid, “he related”) never uses the accusative for the person to whom something is told (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 316).
  31. 2 Samuel 15:31 tn Heb “said.”
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