Day 62

2 Samuel 14-15

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart went out to Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead. 3 Go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.” 5 And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 And your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him. 7 And now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, ‘Give up the man who struck his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.’ And so they would destroy the heir also. Thus they would quench my coal that is left and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” 9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.” 10 The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.” 11 Then she said, “Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.” He said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

12 Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.” 13 And the woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. 15 Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. 16 For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the heritage of God.’ 17 And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”

18 Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant. 20 In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”

21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.

25 Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight. 27 There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’ ” 33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 And 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,” 3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” 4 Then 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.” 5 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 And 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. 8 For 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.’ ” 9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 But 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!’ ” 11 With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. 12 And 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.

David Flees Jerusalem

13 And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” 14 Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” 16 So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten concubines to keep the house. 17 And the king went out, and all the people after him. And they halted at the last house.

18 And all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king. 19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 22 And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people passed on toward the wilderness.

24 And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went. 31 And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

32 While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, and by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” 37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem. [1]

Psalms 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55

Save Me, O My God

3 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1    O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

2    many are saying of my soul,

“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

3    But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4    I cried aloud to the Lord,

and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5    I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

6    I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

7    Arise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

       For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

8    Salvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

4 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1    Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2    O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

3    But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4    Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

5    Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

6    There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7    You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8    In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. [2]

The Faithful Have Vanished

12 To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1    Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2    Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3    May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

4    those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5    “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6    The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7    You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

8    On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

How Long, O Lord?

13 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1    How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2    How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

       How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3    Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4    lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5    But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6    I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me. [3]

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

28 Of David.

1    To you, O Lord, I call;

my rock, be not deaf to me,

       lest, if you be silent to me,

I become like those who go down to the pit.

2    Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

when I cry to you for help,

       when I lift up my hands

toward your most holy sanctuary.

3    Do not drag me off with the wicked,

with the workers of evil,

       who speak peace with their neighbors

while evil is in their hearts.

4    Give to them according to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds;

       give to them according to the work of their hands;

render them their due reward.

5    Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

or the work of his hands,

       he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6    Blessed be the Lord!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7    The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

       my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

8    The Lord is the strength of his people;

he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

9    Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

Be their shepherd and carry them forever. [4]

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

55 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

1    Give ear to my prayer, O God,

and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

2    Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

3    because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

       For they drop trouble upon me,

and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4    My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5    Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

6    And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

7    yes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

8    I would hurry to find a shelter

from the raging wind and tempest.”

9    Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;

for I see violence and strife in the city.

10    Day and night they go around it

on its walls,

       and iniquity and trouble are within it;

11        ruin is in its midst;

       oppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

12    For it is not an enemy who taunts me—

then I could bear it;

       it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—

then I could hide from him.

13    But it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

14    We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God’s house we walked in the throng.

15    Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol alive;

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16    But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.

17    Evening and morning and at noon

I utter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18    He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for many are arrayed against me.

19    God will give ear and humble them,

he who is enthroned from of old, Selah

       because they do not change

and do not fear God.

20    My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21    His speech was smooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

       his words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

22    Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

       he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23    But you, O God, will cast them down

into the pit of destruction;

       men of blood and treachery

shall not live out half their days.

       But I will trust in you. [5]

2 Samuel 16

David and Ziba

16 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” 3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’ ” 4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

Shimei Curses David

5 When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! 8 The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” 10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” 11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” 13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. 14 And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan. And there he refreshed himself.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

15 Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. 16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” 18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”

20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom. [6]