2 Samuel 15:13-31

Living Bible

¹³ A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

¹⁴ “Then we must flee at once or it will be too late!” was David’s instant response to his men. “If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be saved.”

¹⁵ “We are with you,” his aides replied. “Do as you think best.”

¹⁶ So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his young wives to keep the palace in order. ^17-18 David paused at the edge of the city to let his troops move past him to lead the way—six hundred Gittites who had come with him from Gath, and the Cherethites and Pelethites.

^19-20 But suddenly the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the six hundred Gittites, and said to him, “What are you doing here? Go on back with your men to Jerusalem, to your king, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. It seems but yesterday that you arrived, and now today should I force you to wander with us, who knows where? Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the Lord be merciful to you.”

²¹ But Ittai replied, “I vow by God and by your own life that wherever you go, I will go, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”

²² So David replied, “All right, come with us.” Then Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.

²³ There was deep sadness throughout the city as the king and his retinue passed by, crossed Kidron Brook, and went out into the country. ²⁴ Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road until everyone had passed. ^25-26 Then, following David’s instructions, Zadok took the Ark back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if he is through with me, well, let him do what seems best to him.”

²⁷ Then the king told Zadok, “Look, here is my plan. Return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. ²⁸ I will stop at the ford of the Jordan River and wait there for a message from you. Let me know what happens in Jerusalem before I disappear into the wilderness.”

²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back into the city and stayed there.

³⁰ David walked up the road that led to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the mountain. ³¹ When someone told David that Ahithophel, his advisor, was backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, please make Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”