Chapter 16

¹ And David passed on a little way from Ros; and, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth [came] to meet him; and he had a couple of asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred [bunches of] raisins, and a hundred [cakes of] dates, and a bottle of wine. ² And the king said to Ziba, What meanest thou by these? and Ziba said, The asses [are] for the household of the king to sit upon, and the loaves and the dates [are] for the young men to eat, and the wine [is] for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink. ³ And the king said, And where [is] the son of thy master? and Ziba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for he said, Today shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. ⁴ And the king said to Ziba, Behold, all Mephibosheth’s property [is] thine. And Ziba did obeisance and said, My lord, O king, let me find grace in thine eyes.

2Kgdms 16:1-4

⁵ And King David came to Bahurim; and, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, and his name [was] Shimei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as he went, ⁶ and cast stones at David, and at all the servants of King David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on the right and left hand of the king. ⁷ And thus Shimei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, thou bloody man, and man of sin. ⁸ The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.

2Kgdms 16:5-8

⁹ And Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and take off his head. ¹⁰ And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? even let him alone, and so let him curse, for the Lord has told him to curse David: and who shall say, Why hast thou done thus? ¹¹ And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still more now may the son of Benjamin: let him curse, because the Lord has told him. ¹² If by any means the Lord may look on my affliction, thus shall he return me good for his cursing this day.

2Kgdms 16:9-12

¹³ And David and all the men with him went on the way: and Shimei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting stones at him, and sprinkling him with dirt. ¹⁴ And the king, and all the people with him, came away and refreshed themselves there.

2Kgdms 16:13-14

¹⁵ And Absalom and all the men of Israel went into Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶ And it came to pass when Hushai the chief friend of David came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, Let the king live. ¹⁷ And Absalom said to Hushai, [Is] this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not forth with thy friend? ¹⁸ And Hushai said to Absalom, Nay, but following whom the Lord, and this people, and all Israel have chosen—his will I be, and with him will I dwell. ¹⁹ And again, whom shall I serve? should I not in the presence of his son? As I served in the sight of thy father, so will I be in thy presence.

2Kgdms 16:15-19

²⁰ And Absalom said to Ahithophel, Deliberate among yourselves concerning what we should do. ²¹ And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father’s concubines, whom he left to keep his house; and all Israel shall hear that thou hast dishonored thy father; and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strengthened. ²² And 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 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in former days, [was] as if one should inquire of the word of God: so [was] all the counsel of Ahithophel both to David and also to Absalom.

2Kgdms 16:20-23