2 Samuel 15:2-6

Good News Translation

² He would get up early and go and stand by the road at the city gate. Whenever someone came there with a dispute that he wanted the king to settle, Absalom would call him over and ask him where he was from. And after the man had told him what tribe he was from, ³ Absalom would say, “Look, the law is on your side, but there is no representative of the king to hear your case.” ⁴ And he would add, “How I wish I were a judge! Then anyone who had a dispute or a claim could come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵ When the man would approach Absalom to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom did this with every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, and so he won their loyalty.