2 Samuel 16

¹ And David has passed on a little from the top, and lo, Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth - to meet him, and a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred [of] summer-fruit, and a bottle of wine. ² And the king said unto Ziba, "What - these to you?" and Ziba said, "The asses for the household of the king to ride on, and the bread and the summer-fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for the wearied to drink in the wilderness." ³ And the king said, "And where [is] the son of your lord?" and Ziba said unto the king, "Lo, he is abiding in Jerusalem, for he said, To-day do the house of Israel give back to me the kingdom of my father." ⁴ And the king said to Ziba, "Lo, your [are] all that Mephibosheth has"; and Ziba said, "I have bowed myself - I find grace in your eyes, my lord, O king." ⁵ And king David has come in unto Bahurim, and lo, thence a man is coming out, of the family of the house of Saul, and his name [is] Shimei, son of Gera, he comes out, coming out and reviling; ⁶ and he stones David with stones, and all the servants of king David, and all the people, and all the mighty men on his right and on his left. ⁷ And thus said Shimei in his reviling, "Go out, go out, O man of blood, and man of worthlessness! ⁸ Yahweh has turned back on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead you have reigned, and Yahweh does give the kingdom in to the hand of Absalom your son; and lo, you [are] in your evil, for a man of blood you [are]." ⁹ And Abishai son of Zeruiah said unto the king, "Why does this dead dog revile my lord the king? let me pass over, I pray you, and I turn aside his head." ¹⁰ And the king said, "What - to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah? for - let him revile; even because Yahweh has said to him, Revile David; and who said, Wherefore have You done so?" ¹¹ And David said unto Abishai, and unto all his servants, "Lo, my son who came out of my bowels is seeking my life, and also surely now the Benjamite; leave him alone, and let him revile, for Yahweh has said [so] to him; ¹² it may be Yahweh does look on mine affliction, and Yahweh has turned back to me good for his reviling this day." ¹³ And David goes with his men in the way, and Shimei is going at the side of the hill over-against him, going on, and he reviles, and stones with stones over-against him, and has dusted with dust. ¹⁴ And the king comes in, and all the people who [are] with him, wearied, and they are refreshed there. ¹⁵ And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, have come in to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him, ¹⁶ and it comes to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, has come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, "Let the king live! let the king live!" ¹⁷ And Absalom said unto Hushai, "This your kindness with your friend! why have you not gone with your friend?" ¹⁸ And Hushai said unto Absalom, "Nay, for he whom Yahweh has chosen, and this people, even all the men of Israel, his I am, and with him I abide; ¹⁹ and secondly, for whom do I labor? is it not before his son? as I served before your father so am I before you." ²⁰ And Absalom said unto Ahithophel, "Give for you counsel what we do." ²¹ And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, "Go in unto the concubines of your father, whom he left to keep the house, and all Israel has heard that you have been abhorred by your father, and the hands of all who [are] with you have been strong." ²² And they spread out for Absalom the tent on the roof, and Absalom goes in unto the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel. ²³ And the counsel of Ahithophel which he counselled in those days [is] as [when] one inquires at the word of Elohim; so [is] all the counsel of Ahithophel both to David and to Absalom.