The Daily Audio Bible

Hushai’s Counsel

17 Then, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. ² I will ^[a]strike while he is weary and ^[b]exhausted, and terrify him; and all the people with him will flee [in terror]. Then I will attack the king alone, ³ and I will bring all the people [who follow David] back to you. ^[c]The return of everyone depends on the [death of the] man you are seeking; then all the people will be at peace [and accept you as king].” ⁴ So the plan ^[d]pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵ Nevertheless, Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” ⁶ When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has advised this [plan of action]. Should we do what he says? If not, you speak [and explain why not].” ⁷ So Hushai said to Absalom, “Ahithophel has not given good advice this time.” ⁸ And Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are brave men, and they are ^[e]enraged and fierce, like a bear deprived of her cubs in the field. Your father is a [shrewd] man of war, and will not spend the night with the people [knowing that you seek his life]. ⁹ Behold, he has hidden himself [even] now in one of the ravines or in another place; and when some of ^[f]your troops fall at the first attack, whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a defeat among the people who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ And even the one who is brave, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart and melt away; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are brave men. ¹¹ But I advise that all [the men of] Israel be summoned to you, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], like the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle. ¹² So shall we come upon David in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls [unseen and unheard] on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left. ¹³ If he retreats into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the ravine until not even a pebble [of it] is found there.” ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster upon Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

¹⁵ Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “This is the advice that Ahithophel gave to Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is the advice that I have given. ¹⁶ Now then, send word quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the ^[g]fords [on the west side of the Jordan] in the wilderness, but by all means cross over [to the east side of the river], or else the king and all the people with him will be destroyed [if Ahithophel is allowed by Absalom to lead an attack].’” ¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [the priests’ sons] were staying at ^[h]En-rogel, and a maidservant [appearing to go for water] would go and tell them [what was happening], and they would go [secretly] and inform King David; for they could not [allow themselves to] be seen coming into the city [of Jerusalem]. ¹⁸ But a boy saw them and told Absalom; so the two of them left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and [with his permission] they went down into it. ¹⁹ And the woman [of the house] took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain on it; so nothing was discovered. ²⁰ Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have crossed over the brook.” When they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After they left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well and went and informed King David, and said to David, “Arise and cross over the ^[i]Jordan River quickly, for Ahithophel has advised [an attack] against you.” ²² Then David and all the people who were with him departed and crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not even one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³ Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

²⁴ Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. ²⁵ Absalom put Amasa in command of the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named ^[j]Ithra the Israelite, who had married Abigail the daughter of Nahash, [the half sister of David and] the sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. ²⁶ So Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim ²⁸ brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, broad beans, lentils, and [other] roasted grain, ²⁹ honey, cream, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the ^[a]tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout.^{(A) 24} So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “They divided My outer clothing among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”^{(B) 25} So the soldiers did these things.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister [^[b]Salome], ^[c]Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.^{(C) 26} So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the ^[d]disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty.”^{(D) 29} A jar full of ^[e]sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth.^{(E) 30} When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] ^[f]gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs ^[g]broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and 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 blood and water came [flowing] out. ³⁵ And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe. ³⁶ For these things took place to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of His shall be broken.”^{(F) 37} And again another Scripture says, “They shall look at Him whom they have pierced.”^(G)

³⁸ And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body.^{(H) 39} Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] ^[h]pounds. ⁴⁰ So they took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Pe.

Tsadhe.

Qoph.