II Samuel 17

¹Therfor Achitofel seide to Absolon, Y schal chese twelue thousynde of men `to me, and Y schal rise, and pursue Dauid in this nyyt.

²And Y schal falle on hym, for he is wery, and with vnboundun hondis Y schal smyte hym. And whanne al the puple fleeth which is with hym, Y schal smyte the kyng `desolat, ether left aloone.

³And Y schal lede ayen al the puple, as o man is wont to turne ayen; for thou sekist o man, and al the puple schal be in pees.

⁴And the word of him plesyde Absolon, and alle the grete men in birthe of Israel.

⁵Forsothe Absolon seide, Clepe ye also Chusy of Arath, and here we what also he seith.

⁶And whanne Chusi hadde come to Absolon, Absolon seide to hym. Achitofel spak siche a word; owen we do, ethir nay? what counsel yyuest thou?

⁷And Chusi seide to Absolon, This is not good counsel, which Achitofel yaf in this tyme.

⁸And eft Chusi seide, Thou knowist, that thi fadir, and the men that ben with him, ben moost stronge, and in bitter soule, as if a femal bere is fers in the forest, whanne the whelpis ben rauyschid; but also thi fader is a man werriour, and he schal not dwelle with the puple.

⁹In hap now he is hid in the dichis, ethir in o place, in which he wole; and whanne ony man fallith in the bigynnyng, who euer schal here, he schal here, and schal seie, Wounde is maad in the puple that suede Absolon.

¹⁰And ech strongeste man, whos herte is as `the herte of a lioun, schal be discoumfortid for drede; for al the puple of Israel knowith, that thi fadir is strong, and that alle men ben stronge, that ben with him.

¹¹But this semeth to me to be riytful counsel; al Israel be gaderid to thee, fro Dan `til to Bersabee, vnnoumbrable as the soond of the see; and thou schalt be in the myddis of hem.

¹²And we schulen falle on hym, in what euer place he is foundun, and we schulen hile hym, as dew is wont to falle on the erthe; and we schulen not leeue of the men that ben with hym, `sotheli not oon.

¹³`That if he entrith in to ony citee, al Israel schal cumpasse that citee with roopis, and we schulen drawe it in to the stronde, that no thing be foundun, sotheli not a litil stoon therof.

¹⁴And Absolon seide, and alle the men of Israel, The counsel of Chusi of Arath is betere than the counsel of Achitofel; sotheli the profitable counsel of Achitofel was destried bi Goddis wille, that the Lord schulde brynge in yuel on Absolon.

¹⁵And Chusi seide to Sadoch and to Abiathar, preestis, Achitofel yaf counsel to Absolon, and to the eldere men of Israel in this and this maner, and Y yaf sich and sich counsel.

¹⁶Now therfor sende ye soone, and telle ye to Dauid, and seie ye, Dwelle thou not this nyyt in the feeldi places of deseert, but passe thou with out delay; lest perauenture the kyng be destried, and al the puple which is with hym.

¹⁷Forsothe Jonathas and Achymaas stoden bisidis the welle of Rogel; an handmaide yede, and telde to hem, and thei yeden forth to telle the message to kyng Dauid; for thei myyten not be seyn, nether entre in to the citee.

¹⁸Forsothe a child siy hem, and he schewide to Absolon; sotheli thei entriden with swift goyng in to the hows of `sum man in Bahurym, that hadde a pit in his place, and thei yeden doun in to that pit.

¹⁹Forsothe a womman took, and spred abrood an hilyng of the mouth of the pit as driynge `barli with the pile takun a wey, and so the thing was hid.

²⁰And whanne the seruauntis of Absolon hadde come in to the hows, thei seiden to the womman, Where is Achymaas and Jonathas? And the womman answeride to hem, Thei passiden hastily, whanne `watir was tastid a litil. And whanne thei that souyten hem hadden not founde, thei turneden ayen in to Jerusalem.

²¹And whanne thei `that souyten hadden go, thei stieden fro the pit; and thei yeden, and telden to kyng Dauid, and seiden, Rise ye, passe ye soone the flood, for Achitofel yaf sich counsel ayens you.

²²Therfor Dauid roos, and al the puple that was with hym, and thei passiden Jordan, til it was cleer dai, bifor that the word was pupplischid; and sotheli not oon was left, that `passide not the flood.

²³Forsothe Achitofel siy, that his counsel was not doon, and he sadlide his asse, and roos, and yede in to his hows, and in to his citee; and whanne his hows was disposid, he perischide bi hangyng, and he was biried in the sepulcre of his fadir.

²⁴Sotheli Dauid cam in to the castels, and Absolon passide Jordan, he and alle the men of Israel with hym.

²⁵Forsothe Absolon ordeynede Amasan for Joab on the oost; forsothe Amasan was the sone of a man that was clepid Jethra of Jeyrael, which entride to Abigail, douyter of Naas, the sistir of Saruye, that was the modir of Joab.

²⁶And Israel settide tentis with Absolon in the lond of Galaad.

²⁷And whanne Dauid hadde come in to castels, Sobi, the sone of Naas of Rabath, of the sones of Amon, and Machir, the sone of Amyel, of Lodobar, and Berzellai, of Galaad,

²⁸of Rogelym, brouyten to hym beddyngis, and tapitis, and erthun vessels, wheete, and barli, and mele, and flour, and benys, and lente, and fried chichis, and hony,

²⁹and botere, and scheep, and fatte calues. And thei yauen to Dauid, and to the puple that weren with hym, to ete; for thei supposiden the puple to be maad feynt for hungur and thirst in deseert.

II Samuel 17

¹Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:

²And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:

³And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.

⁴And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.

⁶And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou.

⁷And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.

⁸For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

⁹Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.

¹⁰And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.

¹¹Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

¹²So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

¹³Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.

¹⁴And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

¹⁵Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

¹⁶Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

¹⁷Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En–rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.

¹⁸Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.

¹⁹And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.

²⁰And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.

²²Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

²³And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

²⁴Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

²⁵And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.

²⁶So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

²⁷And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo–debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

²⁸Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,

²⁹And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.