Hushai Misleads Absalom
1 Not long after that, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and tonight I will set out after David. 2 I will attack him while he is tired and discouraged. He will be frightened, and all his men will run away. I will kill only the king 3 and then bring back all his men to you, like a bride returning to her husband. You want to kill only one man; the rest of the people will be safe.” 4 This seemed like good advice to Absalom and all the Israelite leaders.
5 Absalom said, “Now call Hushai, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, “This is the advice that Ahithophel has given us; shall we follow it? If not, you tell us what to do.”
7 Hushai answered, “The advice Ahithophel gave you this time is no good. 8 You know that your father David and his men are hard fighters and that they are as fierce as a mother bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier and does not stay with his men at night. 9 Right now he is probably hiding in a cave or some other place. As soon as David attacks your men, whoever hears about it will say that your men have been defeated. 10 Then even the bravest men, as fearless as lions, will be afraid because everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great soldier and that his men are hard fighters. 11 My advice is that you bring all the Israelites together from one end of the country to the other, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore, and that you lead them personally in battle. 12 We will find David wherever he is, and attack him before he knows what's happening. Neither he nor any of his men will survive. 13 If he retreats into a city, our people will all bring ropes and just pull the city into the valley below. Not a single stone will be left there on top of the hill.”
14 Absalom and all the Israelites said, “Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's.” The Lord had decided that Ahithophel's good advice would not be followed, so that disaster would come on Absalom.
David Is Warned and Escapes
15 Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar what advice he had given to Absalom and the Israelite leaders and what advice Ahithophel had given. 16 Hushai added, “Quick, now! Send a message to David not to spend the night at the river crossings in the wilderness, but to cross the Jordan at once, so that he and his men won't all be caught and killed.”
17 Abiathar's son Jonathan and Zadok's son Ahimaaz were waiting at the spring of Enrogel, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, because they did not dare be seen entering the city. A servant woman would regularly go and tell them what was happening, and then they would go and tell King David. 18 But one day a boy happened to see them, and he told Absalom; so they hurried off to hide in the house of a certain man in Bahurim. He had a well near his house, and they got down in it. 19 The man's wife took a covering, spread it over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it, so that no one would notice anything. 20 Absalom's officials came to the house and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
“They crossed the river,” she answered.
The men looked for them but could not find them, and so they returned to Jerusalem. 21 After they left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the well and went and reported to King David. They told him what Ahithophel had planned against him and said, “Hurry up and cross the river.” 22 So David and his men started crossing the Jordan, and by daybreak they had all gone across.
23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and went back to his hometown. After putting his affairs in order, he hanged himself. He was buried in the family grave.
24 David had reached the town of Mahanaim by the time Absalom and the Israelites had crossed the Jordan. ( 25 Absalom had put Amasa in command of the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether the Ishmaelite; his mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab's mother Zeruiah.) 26 Absalom and his men camped in the land of Gilead.
27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash, from the city of Rabbah in Ammon, and by Machir son of Ammiel, from Lodebar, and by Barzillai, from Rogelim in Gilead. 28-29 They brought bowls, clay pots, and bedding, and also food for David and his men: wheat, barley, meal, roasted grain, beans, peas, honey, cheese, cream, and some sheep. They knew that David and his men would get hungry, thirsty, and tired in the wilderness.
Hushai unotjengedza Abusalomu
1 Pezhugwi kwa ipapo Ahithofele kadwa Abusalomu kati, “Ndokumbila shalula balume bali zwiwulu zwili gumi lina babili (12 000), ndikomilika busiku ndinotatana na Dafite. 2 Ndowon'wana atjakanyala kakale akapuna moyo, ndowontjisa ne bathu bose baanabo banowotizha. Ndowobulaya mambo koga, 3 ndowobgwiliza bathu ku kuli. Mushaka bulaya nthu ng'ompela kowobe kudwa shanduka kwe bathu bose, ndizo bathu bose banowogala ne mbakiso.” 4 Gumbuludzo ileli likashathisa Abusalomu ne batungamili bose be Iziraela.
5 Koga Abusalomu kabe eti, “Dana Hushai we N'ariki, tihwebo munli tjaanowoleba.” 6 Ngono kukati Hushai azha, Abusalomu kandwa kati, “Etji nditjo tjalebgwa ndi Ahithofele, apa tithame sekwa akumbuludza kene? Ha kusakajalo utibudze kuti tithameni.”
7 Ipapo Hushai kadabila Abusalomu eti, “Ngwenu gumbuludzo lamapiwa ndi Ahithofele alizolulwama.” 8 Hushai kadwilila eti, “Moziba kuti tate benyu ne babhayani babo bagwi bakasima ne kuti bakalinda banonga bhira hadzi yatolegwa bana mu shango. Pezhugwi kwa ikoku, tate benyu mbhayani unoziba ngwa, abangalale bali pakati kwe babhayani busiku. 9 Ndomubudza, na ngwenu wali bakabgwata mu limwe le makomba, pamwe bali pamwe pathu. Ngono ha bamwe bathu bangabatanga, unowohwa ngekwako unoti, ‘Kwabe ne lufu mu batobeli ba Abusalomu.’ 10 Ipapo nenguba kuna nlume una tjilopa, una moyo unonga we shumba, unopelegwa nge simba, ngobe Iziraela yose inoziba kuti tate benyu mbhayani wakasima, kakale na ibabo banabo babhayani bana tjilopa. 11 Koga gumbuludzo langu nge linoti, Baiziraela bose bakubunganile pa muli, kudwa ku Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba, bali bunji gunonga nsetje we gungwa, mube muyenda ku ngwa nge kwenyu. 12 Ndizo towonowana Dafite paanowobe alipo, ngono towonobawila se khawa idwa pezhugwi, tibe timbulaya kose ne bathu babe kusina ne ng'ompela unowosala. 13 Ha atizhila mu mmwe nzi, ipapo Baiziraela banowozha nge mitjili ku nzi iwoyo, tibe tiukwebela mu nkuku, kudzina kusala kusina nenguba lili bgwana lingawanika pawabe ulipo.”
14 Ngono Abusalomu ne bathu bose be Iziraela bakabe beti, “Gumbuludzo la Hushai we N'ariki loyita pa gumbuludzo la Ahithofele.” Yahwe bakumbuludza kuti gumbuludzo la Ahithofele lakalulwama lisitongo tobegwa, kuti ndizo Yahwe bazhise mbipo muna Abusalomu.
Dafite unotjenjedziwa ebe etizha
15 Ndizo Hushai kadwa bapirisiti Zadoki na Abiathari kati, “Ahithofele wakakumbuludza Abusalomu ne batungamili be Iziraela sahwoku, ngono oku ndiko imi sekwa ndakakumbuludza. 16 Ndizo ngwenu tumilani thumwa kuna Dafite tjinyolotjo kuti banon'dwa bati, ‘Mu busiku gwa nasi musitongo lala panotjulukwa gwizi mu tjilambanyika, koga mugwise nge zila dzose mutjulukile seli, kusajalo mambo ne bathu bose baanabo bawolobesiwa.’ ”
17 Ipapo Jonatani na Ahimaazi bakabe bakalinda bali pa nsenya we Enerogele, nlandakadzi wakabe egala ezha ewobabudza tjinoshingikala, ibo bekoyenda benobudza Mambo Dafite, ngobe ibo bakabe basakafanila bong'wa bengina mu nzi. 18 Koga kukashingikala kuti mbisana ababone, ebe enobudza Abusalomu, ndizo bubili gwabo bakatizha tjinyolotjo bakanobgwata ku ng'umba ye mmwe nlume ku Bhahurimu, wakabe ana tshima mukati kwe nzi uwe ngono bakangina mulili. 19 Nkadzi we ng'umba iyeyo katola thobo kaiwala pa nlomo we tshima, kadzwala mathunde pezhugwi kwayo, kuti kusibe ne ungaziba tjikusi kwayo. 20 Kukati babhayani ba Abusalomu bezha ku nkadzi bakambhuzwa bakati, “Bangayi bo Ahimaazi na Jonatani?”
Nkadzi kabashandula eti, “Batjulukila seli kwe lukobana.”
Babhayani bakabashaka ngono bakasi bawane, bakabe bebgwilila ku Jerusalema.
21 Kukati babhayani basinoyenda, Ahimaazi na Jonatani bakabhuda mu tshima bakabikila Dafite beti, “Milika tjinyolotjo utjuluke nkuku. Ngobe Ahithofele wakumbuludza nge kwenyu sahwoku na woku.” 22 Ipapo Dafite kamilika ne bathu bose baakabe anabo bakatjulukila seli kwe Jorodani, kukati zhuba libhuda kukabe kusitjina ne nng'ompela wabo wakabe asathu katjulukila seli kwe Jorodani.
23 Kukati Ahithofele ebona kuti gumbuludzo lile alizoshingikadziwa, kabelesa donki iye, ngono kayenda kanyi kwabo ku nzi nkulu wakanyi kukwe. Kati asina kululwamisa zwe nsha uwe, kazwisungilila kafa, ngono kabiganyigwa mu ikumbu tja tate babe.
24 Ipapo Dafite kayenda ku Mahanayimi nge tjibaka tjakabe Abusalomu ne Baiziraela betjuluka Jorodani. 25 Ipapo Abusalomu wakabe atjibiga Amasa kutungamila ngwa mu bumo gwa Joabu. Amasa wakabe ali nkololo we nlume wakabe edang'wa Ithera we N'iziraela, wakabe akalobola Abigaile nkololokadzi wa Nahashi, hazwadzi ya Zeruya, mme ba Joabu. 26 Baiziraela na Abusalomu bakakotokela mu shango ye Giliyadi.
27 Kukati Dafite eswika ku Mahanayimi kashanganidziwa ndibo Shobi nkololo wa Nahashi edwa ku Rabha we Baamoni na Makiri nkololo wa Amiele edwa ku Lodeba na Bharizilai we N'giliyadi edwa ku Rogelimu. 28 Bakazha bakasenga malawo ne ndilo ne zwija zwe ntapkhwi ne mathunde e korong ne mathunde e bhali ne bgwisa ne mathunde akakangiwa ne nyemba ne lishumbe. 29 Nenge butji gwe nyutji ne nkaka wakabidwa ne pkhwizi ne tjatjile, bezwizhila Dafite ne baakabe anabo kuti baje. Ngobe bakabe beziba kuti Dafite ne babhayani babe bakanyala kakale bana zhala ne nyota mu tjilambanyika.