2 Samuel 16

¹And when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a pair of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred portions of summer fruit, and a skin of wine.

²And the king said to Ziba, 'What are these for?' And Ziba said, 'The donkeys are for the king's household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit are for the servants to eat, and the wine is for those who grow weary in the wilderness to drink.'

³And the king said, 'And where is your master's son?' And Ziba said to the king, 'Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my father.'

⁴And the king said to Ziba, 'Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.' And Ziba said, 'I bow down; may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.'

⁵When King David came to Bahurim, behold, from there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing as he came.

⁶And he pelted with stones David and all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the warriors, on his right and on his left.

⁷And this is what Shimei said as he cursed: 'Get out, get out, you man of blood and man of worthlessness!'

⁸The Lord has brought back upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are in your calamity, for you are a man of blood.

⁹And Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me cross over and remove his head.'

¹⁰And the king said, What is it to me and to you, sons of Zeruiah? For he curses; for the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who will say, Why have you done so?

¹¹And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, 'Behold, my own son who came out of my body is seeking my life; how much more now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.'

¹²Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and will return to me good in place of his cursing this day.

¹³And David and his men went along the road, while Shimei went along the hillside opposite him, going and cursing and pelting him with stones and throwing dust at him.

¹⁴And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary, and he refreshed himself there.

¹⁵And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

¹⁶And it happened when Hushai the Archite, the friend of David, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, Long live the king! Long live the king!

¹⁷And Absalom said to Hushai, 'Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?'

¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, 'No; rather, with the one whom the LORD has chosen, and this people, and all the men of Israel — to him I will belong and with him I will stay.

¹⁹And the second [consideration]: whom should I serve? Should it not be before his son? Just as I served before your father, so I will be before you.

²⁰And Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your counsel. What shall we do?

²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, 'Go in to your father's concubines, whom he left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.'

²²And they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.

²³Now the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as when a man would inquire of the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom.