2 Samuel 15:1-12
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 15
1Now it came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him. 2And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the road to the gate; and when any man who had a lawsuit was to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out 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, your claims are good and right, but you have no one to listen to you on the part of the king.' 4Moreover, Absalom would say, 'Oh that someone would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has a lawsuit or claim could come to me, and I would give him justice!' 5And whenever a man approached to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6Absalom dealt this way with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7Now it came about at the end of four years that Absalom said to the king, 'Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord, in Hebron.
8For your servant made a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’?'
9The king said to him, 'Go in peace.' So he got up and went to Hebron.
10But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, 'As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’?'
11Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, who were invited and went innocently, for they did not know anything.
12And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people continually increased with Absalom.
King James Version
Chapter 15
1And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. 3And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 4Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
5And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
6And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron.
8For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.
9And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
10But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
11And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.
12And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 15
1After this, Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for settlement, Absalom called out to him and asked, "What city are you from?" If he replied, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel," 3Absalom said to him, "Look, your claims are good and right, but the king does not have anyone to listen to you." 4He added, "If only someone would appoint me judge in the land. Then anyone who had a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would make sure he received justice." 5When a person approached to pay homage to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him. 6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for a settlement. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.
8For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the Lord really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron."
11Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they did not know the whole situation.
12While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.
New Living Translation
Chapter 15
1After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. 2He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3Then Absalom would say, 'You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!'
5When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them.
6Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.
7After four years, Absalom said to the king, 'Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him.
8For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.'
9All right,' the king told him. 'Go and fulfill your vow.' So Absalom went to Hebron.
10But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. 'As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,' his message read, 'you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’'
11He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions.
12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.
English Standard Version
Chapter 15
1After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city are you?" And when he said, "Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel," 3Absalom would say to him, "See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you." 4Then Absalom would say, "Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice." 5And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7And at the end of four years Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron.
8For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.’"
9The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he arose and went to Hebron.
10But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’"
11With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing.
12And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David 's counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.
New International Version
Chapter 15
1In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." 3Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice."
5Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
6Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.
8While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron. ’ "
10Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ "
11Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.
12While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
New King James Version
Chapter 15
1After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” 3Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.” 4Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” 5And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. 6In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7Now it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord.
8For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”
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, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ ”
11And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything.
12Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number.
