16
And when Hushai of Archi, the friend of David, had come to Absalom, he said to him, Hail, king! hail, king!
17
To whom Absalom said, This is thy grace to thy friend (This is how thou showest thy loyalty to thy friend?); why wentest thou not with thy friend?
18
And Hushai answered to Absalom, Nay, for I shall be the servant of him, whom the Lord hath chosen, and all this people, and all Israel; and I shall dwell with him (and I shall stay with him).
19
But that I say also this, to whom shall I serve? whether not to the son of the king? as I obeyed to thy father, so I shall obey to thee.
20
And Absalom said to Ahithophel, Take ye counsel (Give ye advice to me), what we ought to do.
21
And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Enter thou [in] to the concubines of thy father, which he left to keep the house; that when all Israel heareth, that thou hast defouled thy father's bed, the hands of them be strengthened with thee. (And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Enter thou in to thy father's concubines, whom he left in charge of the palace; and when all Israel heareth, that thou hast defiled thy father's bed, the hands of them who be with thee shall be strengthened.)
22
Therefore they stretched out (for) Absalom a tabernacle in the solar, and he entered [in] to the concubines of his father before all Israel. (And so they stretched out a tent on the roof for Absalom, and he lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.)
23
And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man had counselled with God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both when he was with David, and when he was with Absalom.