2 Samuel 15:32

32 And when David went up into [the] highness of the hill, in which he should worship the Lord, lo! Hushai of Archi, with his cloth rent, and with his head full of earth, came to him. (And when David reached the top of the hill, where he would worship the Lord, lo! Hushai the Archite came to him, with his cloak torn, and with earth, or with dirt, on his head.)

2 Samuel 15:32 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 15:32

And it came to pass, that [when] David was come to the top [of
the mount]
Of the mount of Olives:

where he worshipped God;
by prayer and praise; here very probably he composed and sung the third psalm ( Psalms 3:1-8 ) , which, as the title shows, was made when he fled from Absalom:

behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent, and
earth upon his head;
in token of mourning, and as a bringer of bad tidings, see ( 2 Samuel 1:2 ) ; perhaps he was an inhabitant of Archi, at least originally, which lay on the borders of the tribe of Ephraim, ( Joshua 16:2 ) ; from whence he had his name.

2 Samuel 15:32 In-Context

30 Forsooth David went up upon the hill of olive trees, going up and weeping, with his head covered, and with bare feet passing forth; but also all the people that was with him, went up with their head(s) covered, and (they also) wept. (And David went up on the Mount of Olives, walking and weeping, with his head covered, and going forth with bare feet; and all the people who were with him also went up weeping, and with their heads covered.)
31 And it was told to David, that Ahithophel was in the swearing together with Absalom; and David said, Lord, I beseech, make thou fond the counsel of Ahithophel. (And it was told to David that Ahithophel was in the conspiracy with Absalom; and David said, Lord, I beseech thee, turn thou Ahithophel's advice into foolishness.)
32 And when David went up into [the] highness of the hill, in which he should worship the Lord, lo! Hushai of Archi, with his cloth rent, and with his head full of earth, came to him. (And when David reached the top of the hill, where he would worship the Lord, lo! Hushai the Archite came to him, with his cloak torn, and with earth, or with dirt, on his head.)
33 And David said to him, If thou comest with me, thou shalt be to me (a) charge (thou shalt be a burden to me);
34 soothly if thou turnest again to the city, and sayest to Absalom, I am thy servant, O king, suffer thou me to live; as I was the servant of thy father, so I shall be thy servant; thou shalt destroy the counsel of Ahithophel (then thou shalt be able to destroy Ahithophel's advice).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.