2 Samuel 16:21--17:4

16:21 Ahithophel replied to Absalom, “Have sex with ¹  your father’s concubines whom he left to care for the palace. All Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. Then your followers will be motivated to support you.” ²  16:22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ³  and Absalom had sex with ⁴  his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

16:23 In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation. ⁵  Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel. ⁶ 

The Death of Ahithophel

17:1 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me pick out twelve thousand men. Then I will go and pursue David this very night. 17:2 When I catch up with ⁷  him he will be exhausted and worn out. ⁸  I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king 17:3 and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. ⁹  The entire army will return unharmed.” ¹⁰ 

17:4 This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders ¹¹  of Israel.

[16:21]  ¹ tn Heb “go to”; NAB “have (+ sexual NCV) relations with”; TEV “have intercourse with”; NLT “Go and sleep with.”

[16:21]  ² tn Heb “and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”

[16:22]  ³ sn That is, on top of the flat roof of the palace, so it would be visible to the public.

[16:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “went to”; NAB “he visited his father’s concubines”; NIV “lay with his father’s concubines”; TEV “went in and had intercourse with.”

[16:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “And the advice of Ahithophel which he advised in those days was as when one inquires of the word of God.”

[16:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “So was all the advice of Ahithophel, also to David, also to Absalom.”

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”

[17:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”

[17:3]  ⁹ tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.

[17:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”

[17:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “elders.”