Hushai Saves David

1 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is ^qweary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. ^rI will strike down only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,¹ and all the people will be at peace.” 4 And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 Then Absalom said, “Call ^sHushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.” 7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged,^{2 t}like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. 9 Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall³ at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10 Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly ^umelt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. 11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, ^vfrom Dan to Beersheba, ^was the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. 13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” 14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” ^xFor the Lord had ordained⁴ to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

15 ^yThen Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. 16 Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at ^zthe fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be ^aswallowed up.’” 17 Now ^bJonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at ^cEn-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at ^dBahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. 19 ^eAnd the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. 20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook⁵ of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, ^f“Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.” 22 Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to ^ghis own city. He ^hset his house in order and ⁱhanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

24 Then David came to ^jMahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25 Now Absalom had set ^kAmasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,⁶ who had married Abigal the daughter of ^lNahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

27 When David came to Mahanaim, ^mShobi the son of Nahash from ⁿRabbah of the Ammonites, and ^oMachir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and ^pBarzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils,⁷ 29 honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and ^qweary and thirsty ^rin the wilderness.”

Paul Defends His Ministry

1 ⁱI, Paul, myself entreat you, by the ^jmeekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you ^kthat when I am present I may not have to show ^lboldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the ^mweapons of ⁿour warfare are not of the flesh but have ^odivine power ^pto destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and ^qevery lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to ^robey Christ, 6 ^sbeing ready to punish every disobedience, ^twhen your obedience is complete.

7 ^uLook at what is before your eyes. ^vIf anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as ^whe is Christ’s, ^xso also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of ^your authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but ^zhis bodily presence is weak, and ^ahis speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or ^bcompare ourselves with some of those who ^care commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are ^dwithout understanding.

13 But we will not boast ^ebeyond limits, but will ^fboast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, ^gto reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. ^hFor we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ⁱas your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be ^jgreatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. 17 “Let ^kthe one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is ^lnot the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one ^mwhom the Lord commends.

The Siege of Jerusalem

1 ^lIn the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^m“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 And ⁿutter a parable to ^othe rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^rWoe to the bloody city, to ^pthe pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.² 7 For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ^sthe bare rock; ^tshe did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. 8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. 9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! ^uI also will make the pile great. 10 Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,³ and let the bones be burned up. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ^vthat its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. 12 ^wShe has wearied herself with toil;⁴ its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! 13 On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ^xyou shall not be cleansed anymore till ^yI have satisfied my fury upon you. 14 ^zI am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ^aI will not spare; ^bI will not relent; ^caccording to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 ^d“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^eBind on your turban, and ^fput your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^gnor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^hat evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ⁱas I was commanded.

19 And ^jthe people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^kBehold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^lyour sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And ^myou shall do as I have done; ^myou shall not cover your lips, ^gnor eat the bread of men. 23 ^mYour turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ⁿyou shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^oa sign; ^maccording to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^pyou will know that I am the Lord God.’

25 “As for you, ^qson of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^rtheir stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, 26 ^son that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth ^twill be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^uSo you will be a sign to them, and ^vthey will know that I am the Lord.”

Give the King Your Justice

Of ^qSolomon.