David Sends the Sacred Chest Back to Jerusalem

15 ²³ The people of Jerusalem were crying and moaning as David and everyone with him passed by. He led them across Kidron Valley and along the road toward the desert. ²⁴ Zadok and Abiathar the priests were there along with several men from the tribe of Levi who were carrying the sacred chest. They set the chest down, and left it there until David and his followers had gone out of the city. ²⁵ Then David said:  Zadok, take the sacred chest back to Jerusalem. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see it and his tent again. ²⁶ But if he says he isn’t pleased with me, then let him do what he knows is best. ²⁷ Zadok, you are a good judge of things, so return to the city and don’t cause any trouble. Take your son Ahimaaz with you. Abiathar and his son Jonathan will also go back. ²⁸ I’ll wait at the river crossing in the desert until I hear from you. ²⁹ Zadok and Abiathar took the sacred chest back into Jerusalem and stayed there. ³⁰ David went on up the slope of the Mount of Olives. He was barefoot and crying, and he covered his head to show his sorrow. Everyone with him was crying, and they covered their heads too. ³¹ Someone told David, "Ahithophel is helping Absalom plot against you!" David said, "Please, Lord, keep Ahithophel’s plans from working!" David Sends Hushai Back as a Spy ³² When David reached the top of the Mount of Olives, he met Hushai the Archite at a place of worship. Hushai’s robe was torn, and dust was on his head. ³³ David told him:  If you come with me, you might slow us down. ³⁴ Go back into the city and tell Absalom, "Your Majesty, I am your servant. I will serve you now, just as I served your father in the past."Hushai, if you do that, you can help me ruin Ahithophel’s plans. ³⁵ Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you, and you can tell them everything you hear in the palace. ³⁶ Then have them send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what you’ve heard. ³⁷ David’s advisor Hushai slipped back into Jerusalem, just about the same time that Absalom was coming in. Ziba Gives Food to David 16 ¹ David had started down the other side of the Mount of Olives, when he was met by Ziba, the chief servant of Mephibosheth. Ziba had two donkeys that were carrying two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred handfuls of raisins, a hundred figs, and some wine. ² "What’s all this?" David asked. Ziba said, "The donkeys are for your family to ride. The bread and fruit are for the people to eat, and the wine is for them to drink in the desert when they are tired out." ³ "And where is Mephibosheth?" David asked. Ziba answered, "He stayed in Jerusalem, because he thinks the people of Israel want him to rule the kingdom of his grandfather Saul." ⁴ David then told him, "Everything that used to belong to Mephibosheth is now yours." Ziba said, "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant, and I hope you will be pleased with me." Shimei Curses David ⁵ David was near the town of Bahurim when a man came out and started cursing him. The man was Shimei the son of Gera, and he was one of Saul’s distant relatives. ⁶ He threw stones at David, at his soldiers, and at everyone else, including the bodyguards who walked on each side of David. ⁷ Shimei was yelling at David, "Get out of here, you murderer! You good-for-nothing, ⁸ the Lord is paying you back for killing so many in Saul’s family. You stole his kingdom, but now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. You’re a murderer, and that’s why you’re in such big trouble!" ⁹ Abishai said, "Your Majesty, this man is as useless as a dead dog! He shouldn’t be allowed to curse you. Let me go over and chop off his head." ¹⁰ David replied, "What will I ever do with you and your brother Joab? If Shimei is cursing me because the Lord has told him to, then who are you to tell him to stop?" ¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and all his soldiers:  My own son is trying to kill me! Why shouldn’t this man from the tribe of Benjamin want me dead even more? Let him curse all he wants. Maybe the Lord did tell him to curse me. ¹² But if the Lord hears these curses and sees the trouble I’m in, maybe he will have pity on me instead. ¹³ David and the others went on down the road. Shimei went along the hillside by the road, cursing and throwing rocks and dirt at them. ¹⁴ When David and those with him came to the Jordan River, they were tired out. But after they rested, they felt much better.