2 Samuel 17:7

7 Hushai said, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given in this instance is not good.

2 Samuel 17:7 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:7

And Hushai said to Absalom
Having leave to give his opinion freely:

the counsel that Ahithophel hath given [is] not good at this time;
he owns that Ahithophel was a good counsellor, and that the counsel he gave was for the most part, if not always, good, but what he gave at this time was not so; the wisest of men may sometimes be mistaken. Abarbinel thinks he respects his former counsel, particularly that that was good, advising him to defile his father's bed, ( 2 Samuel 16:21 ) ; but this was not, for which he gives the following reasons.

2 Samuel 17:7 In-Context

5 But then Absalom said, "Call in Hushai the Arkite - let's hear what he has to say."

6 So Hushai came and Absalom put it to him, "This is what Ahithophel advised. Should we do it? What do you say?"

7 Hushai said, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given in this instance is not good.

8 You know your father and his men, brave and bitterly angry - like a bear robbed of her cubs. And your father is an experienced fighter; you can be sure he won't be caught napping at a time like this.

9 Even while we're talking, he's probably holed up in some cave or other. If he jumps your men from ambush, word will soon get back, 'A slaughter of Absalom's army!'