2 Samuel 15 - 16, 2 John, Ecclesiastes 2

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15Now it happened afterwards, that ^aAbsalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. ²And Absalom used to rise early and ^astand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a case to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^ayour words are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” ⁴Then Absalom would say, “^aOh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any case or judgment could come to me and I would justify him.” ⁵And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would send forth his hand and take hold of him and ^akiss him. ⁶In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^aso Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷Now it happened at the end of ¹forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to Yahweh, in ^aHebron. ⁸“For your servant ^avowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^bIf Yahweh shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve Yahweh.’” ⁹And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^aAbsalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹Now two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^awho were invited and ^bwent ¹innocently, and they did not know anything. ¹²And Absalom sent for ^aAhithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^bGiloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^cthe people increased continually with Absalom.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³Then an informant came to David, saying, “^aThe hearts of the men of Israel ¹have followed Absalom.” ¹⁴So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “^aArise and let us flee, for otherwise there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go in haste, lest he overtake us hastily and drive calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.” ¹⁶So the king went out and all his household ¹with him. But ^athe king left ten concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷And the king went out and all the people ¹with him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸Now all his servants passed on beside him, ^aall the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^bsix hundred men who had come ¹with him from Gath, passed on before the king.

¹⁹Then the king said to ^aIttai the Gittite, “Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile; return to your own place. ²⁰“You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, going about, while ^aI go where I go? Return and cause your brothers to return; ^blovingkindness and ¹truth be with you.” ²¹But Ittai answered the king and said, “As Yahweh lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely ^awherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” ²²So David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over ^athe brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward ^bthe way of the wilderness.

²⁴Now behold, ^aZadok also came, and all the Levites with him ^bcarrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^cAbiathar came up until all the people had finished passing from the city. ²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of Yahweh, then ^aHe will cause me to return and show me both it and ^bHis habitation. ²⁶“But if He should say thus, ‘^aI have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, ^blet Him do to me as seems good in His sight.” ²⁷The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^aa seer? Return to the city in peace and your ^btwo sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸“See, I am going to wait ^aat the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and ^ahis head was covered and he was walking ^bbarefoot. And all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went. ³¹Now David informed them, saying, “^aAhithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Yahweh, I pray, ^bmake the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”

³²Then it happened that as David was coming to the summit, where he used to worship God, that behold, Hushai the ^aArchite met him with his ¹coat torn and ²dust on his head. ³³And David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be ^aa burden to me. ³⁴“But if you return to the city, and ^asay to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵“Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that ^awhatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall inform Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶“Behold, ^atheir two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^bby their hand you shall send me everything that you hear.” ³⁷So Hushai, ^aDavid’s friend, came into the city, and ^bAbsalom came into Jerusalem.

Ziba Meets David

16Now David had passed ^aa little beyond the summit, and behold, ^bZiba the young man of Mephibosheth met him ^cwith a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. ²And the king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “^aThe donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, ^bfor whoever is faint in the wilderness to drink.” ³Then the king said, “And where is ^ayour master’s son?” And ^bZiba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will return the kingdom of my father to me.’” ⁴So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!”

Shimei Curses David

⁵And King David came to ^aBahurim, and behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul ^bwhose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out ^ccursing continually as he came. ⁶He also threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left. ⁷And thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, ^ayou man of bloodshed, and vile fellow! ⁸“^aYahweh has returned upon you all ^bthe bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and Yahweh has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

⁹Then ^aAbishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should ^bthis dead dog ^ccurse my lord the king? Let me pass over now and remove his head.” ¹⁰But the king said, “^aWhat have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? ^bIf he curses, and if Yahweh has told him, ‘Curse David,’ ^cthen who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^amy son who came forth from my body seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, ^bfor Yahweh has told him. ¹²“Perhaps Yahweh will look on my affliction and ¹^,^areturn good to me instead of his cursing this day.” ¹³So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him. ¹⁴Then the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary and he refreshed himself there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

¹⁵^aNow Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶And it happened that when ^aHushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^bHushai said to Absalom, “^cLong live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your lovingkindness to your friend? ^aWhy did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸Then Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom Yahweh, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹“Besides, ^awhom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I will be in your presence.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” ²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “^aGo in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” ²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ^aand Absalom went in to his father’s concubines ^bin the sight of all Israel. ²³^aNow the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if one asked of the word of God; ^bso was all the counsel of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.

Walk in Truth and Love

1^aThe elder to the ^belect ^clady and her children, whom I ^dlove in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^eknow the truth, ²for ^athe sake of the truth which abides ^bin us and will be ^cwith us forever: ³^aGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴^aI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we received commandment from the Father. ⁵Now I ask you, lady, ^anot as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had ^bfrom the beginning, that we ^clove one another. ⁶And ^athis is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, ^bjust as you have heard ^cfrom the beginning, that you should walk in it.

⁷For ^amany deceivers have ^bgone out into the world, those who ^cdo not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is ^dthe deceiver and the ^eantichrist. ⁸^aSee to yourselves, ^bthat you do not lose what we accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. ⁹¹Anyone who ²goes too far and ^adoes not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. The one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^ado not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting, ¹¹for the one who gives him a greeting ¹^,^aparticipates in his evil deeds.

¹²^aThough I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that ¹your ^bjoy may be made complete.

¹³The children of your ^aelect sister greet you.

The Vanity of Pleasure and Possessions

2I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with ^agladness, so that you shall see good things.” And behold, it too was vanity. ²^aI said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of gladness, “What does it do?” ³I explored with my heart how to ¹^,^astimulate my ²body with wine—while my heart was guiding me wisely—and how to seize ^bsimpleminded folly, until I could see ^cwhere is this good for the sons of men in what they do under heaven the few days of their lives. ⁴I made my works great: I ^abuilt houses for myself; I planted ^bvineyards for myself; ⁵I made for myself ^agardens and ^bparks, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶I made for myself ^apools of water from which to water a forest of growing trees. ⁷I bought male and female slaves, and I had ¹^,^ahomeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^bherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and ^agold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^bmale and female singers and the pleasures of the sons of men—many concubines.

⁹Then I became ^agreat and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ¹⁰^aAll that my eyes asked for I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any gladness, for my heart was glad because of all my labor, and this was my ^breward for all my labor. ¹¹Thus I turned to all my works which my hands had done and the labor which I had labored to do, and behold, all was ¹^,^avanity and striving after wind, and there was ^bno advantage under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹²So I turned to ^asee wisdom, madness, and simpleminded folly. What will the man do who will come after the king except ^bwhat has already been done? ¹³And I saw that there is an advantage in ^awisdom over simpleminded folly as light has an advantage over darkness. ¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^afool walks in darkness. And yet I know that the ^bfate of one becomes the fate of all of them. ¹⁵Then I said in my heart, “^aAs is the fate of the fool, so will my fate be also. ^bWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So I said in my heart, “This too is vanity.” ¹⁶For there is ^ano remembrance of the wise man along with the fool forever, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^bhow the wise man dies with the fool! ¹⁷So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ¹grievous to me; because everything is vanity and striving after wind.

The Vanity of Labor

¹⁸Thus I hated ^aall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^bleave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^aa man of simpleminded folly? Yet he will have ¹power over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored and for which I have acted wisely under the sun. This too is ^bvanity. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart to despair of all my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^askill, then he ^bgives his portion to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what does a man get in ^aall his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun? ²³Because all his days his endeavor is painful and ^avexing; even at night his heart ^bdoes not lie down. This too is vanity.

²⁴¹There is ^anothing better for a man than to eat and drink and have his soul see good in his labor. This also I have seen that it is ^bfrom the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment outside of ¹Him? ²⁶For to a man who is good before Him, ^aHe has given wisdom and knowledge and gladness, while to the sinner He has given the endeavor of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bgive to one who is good before God. This too is ^cvanity and striving after wind.