CHAPTER 16
When David
had gone
a little
beyond the summit,
Ziba
the servant
of
Mephibosheth
was there
to meet him.
He had a pair
of saddled
donkeys
loaded with
two hundred loaves
of bread,
a hundred
clusters of raisins,
a hundred
summer fruits,
and a skin
of wine.
“Why
do you have these?”
said
the king
to
Ziba.
Ziba
replied,
“The donkeys
are for the king’s
household
to ride,
the bread
and summer fruit
are for the young men
to eat,
and the wine
is to refresh those
who become exhausted
in the wilderness.”
“Where
is your master’s
grandson?”
asked
the king.
And Ziba
answered,
“Indeed,
he is staying
in Jerusalem,
for
he has said,
‘Today,
the house
of Israel
will restore
to me
the kingdom
of my grandfather.’”
So the king
said
to Ziba,
“All
that belongs
to Mephibosheth
is now yours!”
“I humbly bow before you,”
said
Ziba.
“May I find
favor
in your eyes,
my lord
the king!”
As King
David
approached
Bahurim,
a man
from the family
of the house
of Saul
was just
coming out.
His name
was Shimei
son
of Gera,
and as he approached,
he kept yelling out curses.
He threw stones
at David
and at all
the servants
of the king,
though the troops
and all
the mighty men were
on David’s
right
and left.
The LORD
has paid you back
for all
the blood
of the house
of Saul,
in whose
place
you have reigned,
and the LORD
has handed the kingdom
over to
your son
Absalom.
See,
you have come to ruin
because
you are
a man
of bloodshed!"
Then Abishai
son
of Zeruiah
said
to
the king,
“Why
should this
dead
dog
curse
my lord
the king?
Let me go over
and cut off his head!”
But the king
replied,
“What
have I
to do with you,
O sons
of Zeruiah?
If
he curses me
because
the LORD
told him,
‘Curse
David,’
who
can ask,
‘Why
did you do
this?’”
Then David
said
to
Abishai
and all
his servants,
“Behold,
my own son,
my own flesh and blood,
seeks
my life.
How much more,
then,
this Benjamite!
Leave him alone
and let him curse me,
for the LORD
has told
him
so.
So David
and his men
proceeded
along the road
as Shimei
went
along the ridge
of the hill
opposite him.
As Shimei went,
he yelled curses,
threw stones,
and flung
dust
at David.
Finally, the king
and all
the people
with him
arrived,
exhausted.
And there
he refreshed himself.
And
David’s
friend
Hushai
the Archite
went
to
Absalom
and said
to
him,
“Long live
the king!
Long live
the king!”
“Is this
the loyalty
you show
your friend?”
Absalom
replied.
“Why
did you not
go
with
your friend?”
“Not at all,”
Hushai
answered.
“For
the one
chosen
by the LORD,
by the
people,
and by all
the men
of Israel—
his
I will be,
and with him
I will remain.
Furthermore,
whom
should I
serve
if not
the son?
As
I served
in your father’s
presence,
so also
I will serve
in yours.”
Ahithophel
replied,
“Sleep with
your father’s
concubines
whom
he has left
to keep
the palace.
When all
Israel
hears
that
you have become a stench
to
your father,
then the hands
of all
who are
with you
will be strengthened."
So they pitched
a tent
for Absalom
on
the roof,
and he
slept with
his father’s
concubines
in the sight
of all
Israel.
Now in those
days
the advice
of Ahithophel
was like
the consultation
of the word
of God.
Such
was the regard
that both
David
and
Absalom
had for Ahithophel’s
advice.