7
Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time
is not good.
8
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they
are mighty men, and
now their souls are bitter, 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.
9
Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some
other place, and if some of thy
men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
10
Thus even the valiant, whose heart
is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father
is a mighty man and
those who
are with him
are valiant men.
11
Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that
is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
12
Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that
are with him, there shall not be left so much as one.
13
Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there.
14
Then 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 given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
15
Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled.
16
Now, therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not lodge this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass
the Jordan; lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that
are with him.
17
Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel, for they could not be seen coming into the city; and a maidservant went and told them, and they went and told King David.