The Daily Audio Bible

Hushai’s Counsel

17 Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight. ^2 (A)I will come upon him while he is weary and ^[a]exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then ^(B)I will strike down the king alone, ³ and I will bring back all the people to you. ^[b]The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; then all the people will be at ^(C)peace.” ⁴ So the ^[c]plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵ Then Absalom said, “Now call ^(D)Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what ^[d]he has to say.” ⁶ When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to ^[e]him, “Ahithophel has spoken ^[f]thus. Shall we ^[g]carry out his plan? If not, you speak.” ⁷ So Hushai said to Absalom, “^(E)This time the advice that Ahithophel has ^[h]given is not good.” ⁸ Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are ^[i]fierce, ^(F)like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an ^[j]expert in warfare, and will not spend the night with the people. ⁹ Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the ^[k]caves or in another place; and it will be ^[l]when he falls on them at the first attack, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, ^(G)will completely ^[m]lose heart; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. ¹¹ But I counsel that all Israel be surely gathered to you, ^(H)from Dan even to Beersheba, ^(I)as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that ^[n]you personally go into battle. ¹² So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will ^[o]fall on him ^(J)as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left. ¹³ If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will ^(K)drag it into the ^[p]valley until not even a small stone is found there.” ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For ^(L)the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

¹⁵ Then ^(M)Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “^[q]This is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and ^[r]this is what I have counseled. ¹⁶ Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘^(N)Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be ^[s]destroyed.’” ^17 (O)Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at ^(P)En-rogel, and a maidservant would go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city. ¹⁸ But a lad did see them and told Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man ^(Q)in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down ^[t]into it. ¹⁹ And ^(R)the woman ^[u]took a covering and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, so that nothing was known. ²⁰ Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And ^(S)the woman said to them, “They have crossed the brook of water.” And when they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ It came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David; and they said to David, “^(T)Arise and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you.” ²² Then David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed the Jordan; and by ^[v]dawn not even one remained who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³ Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not ^[w]followed, he ^[x]saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to ^(U)his city, and ^[y](V)set his house in order, and ^(W)strangled himself; thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.

²⁴ Then David came to ^(X)Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. ²⁵ Absalom set ^(Y)Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was ^[z]Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of ^(Z)Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. ²⁶ And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi ^(AA)the son of Nahash from ^(AB)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, ^(AC)Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and ^(AD)Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, ²⁸ brought ^(AE)beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched seeds, ²⁹ honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, ^(AF)to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

²³ Then ^(A)the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made ^(B)four parts, a part to every soldier and also the ^[a]tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven ^[b]in one piece. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “^(C)Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; ^(D)this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They ^(E)divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast ^[c]lots.” ²⁵ Therefore the soldiers did these things.

^(F)But standing by the cross of Jesus were ^(G)His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^(H)Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus then saw His mother, and ^(I)the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “^(J)Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into ^(K)his own household.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^(L)knowing that all things had already been accomplished, ^(M)to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “^(N)I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so ^(O)they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “^(P)It is finished!” And He bowed His head and ^(Q)gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was ^(R)the day of preparation, so that ^(S)the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (^[d]for that Sabbath was a ^(T)high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was ^(U)crucified with Him; ³³ but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^(V)blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has ^(W)testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things came to pass ^(X)to fulfill the Scripture, “^(Y)Not a bone of Him shall be ^[e]broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “^(Z)They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

^38 (AA)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a ^(AB)secret one for ^(AC)fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. ^39 (AD)Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, ^(AE)bringing a ^[f]mixture of ^(AF)myrrh and aloes, about a ^(AG)hundred ^[g]pounds weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(AH)bound it in ^(AI)linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a ^(AJ)new tomb ^(AK)in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² Therefore because of the Jewish day of ^(AL)preparation, since the tomb was ^(AM)nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Pe.

Tsadhe.

Qoph.