2 Samuel 16:20
ESV
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your counsel. What shall we do?"
NIV
Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give us your advice. What should we do?"
NASB
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, 'Give your advice. What should we do?'
CSB
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give me your advice. What should we do?"
NLT
Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, 'What should I do next?'
KJV
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
NKJV
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.”
What does 2 Samuel 16:20 mean?
Before launching the coup to steal the throne from David, Absalom had successfully recruited Ahithophel to join his conspiracy. This was David's most respected and wise counselor. David and all those loyal to him are fleeing for their lives toward the Jordan River. Absalom turns to Ahithophel and asks what he should do next.Absalom must take full, unquestioned possession of the kingdom. Ahithophel knows it's not enough to occupy Jerusalem. Nor is it sufficient to win the hearts of much of Israel. It will require more than Absalom crowning himself king. Absalom's remaining hurdle is that David still lives and has many loyal followers. Absalom needs to show the people that he has definitively supplanted his father.
David has several wives including Michal, Abigail, Maacah, and Bathsheba. In addition, he has many concubines (1 Chronicles 3:1–9). This is normal for kings of the day; each wife, except Abigail and Bathsheba, probably represents an alliance with either a foreign king or a powerful domestic ally.
When David heard that Absalom was coming, he took his family and fled the city. He left ten concubines to care for the house. It's customary for a new king to inherit the wives and concubines of the man he replaced (2 Samuel 12:8). So, to show Jerusalem that Absalom is fully breaking with his father, he needs to have sex with his father's remaining concubines (2 Samuel 16:21).
