Absalom

Achitofel answered Avshalom, "Go in, and sleep with your father's concubines, the ones he left to take care of the palace. All Isra'el will hear that your father utterly despises you, and this will strengthen the position of all those who are on your side."

So they set up a tent for Avshalom on the roof of the palace; and Avshalom went in to sleep with his father's concubines in the sight of all Isra'el.

In those days Achitofel's advice was regarded as highly as if someone had sought out the word of God; it was this way with Achitofel's advice both to David and to Avshalom.

Achitofel said to Avshalom, "Let me now choose 12,000 men, and I will pursue David tonight.

What he said pleased Avshalom and all the leaders of Isra'el.

Then Avshalom said, "Now call also Hushai the Arki, and let's give equal hearing to what he has to say."

When Hushai appeared before Avshalom, Avshalom said to him, "Achitofel has said such-and-such. Should we do what he says? If not, you tell us."

Hushai said to Avshalom, "The advice Achitofel has given this time is not good.

right now he's hidden in a pit or somewhere. So what will happen is this: when they begin their attack, and whoever hears about it says, 'A slaughter is taking place among Avshalom's followers,'

Avshalom and all the men of Isra'el said, "The advice of Hushai the Arki is better than the advice of Achitofel"- for ADONAI had determined to frustrate the good advice of Achitofel, so that ADONAI could bring disaster on Avshalom.

Then Hushai said to Tzadok and Evyatar the cohanim, "Achitofel gave such-and-such advice to Avshalom and the leaders of Isra'el, but I advised so and so.

But a boy saw them and told Avshalom; so both of them took off quickly and came to the house of a man in Bachurim who had a cistern in his courtyard; and they went down into it.

Avshalom's servants came to the woman at the house and asked, "Where are Achima'atz and Y'honatan?"The woman answered them, "They've crossed the stream."After searching and not finding them, they returned to Yerushalayim.

David had reached Machanayim by the time Avshalom and all the men of Isra'el crossed the Yarden.

Avshalom had put 'Amasa in charge of the army in place of Yo'av. 'Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Yitra the Isra'eli, who had had sexual relations with Avigal the daughter of Nachash, Tz'ruyah's sister and Yo'av's mother.

Isra'el and Avshalom pitched camp in the land of Gil'ad.

The king gave orders to Yo'av, Avishai and Ittai, "For my sake, deal gently with young Avshalom."All the people were listening when the king gave all the commanders this order concerning Avshalom.

Avshalom happened to meet some of David's servants. Avshalom was riding his mule, and as the mule walked under the thick branches of a big terebinth tree, his head got caught in the terebinth, so that he was left hanging between earth and sky, as the mule went on from under him.

Someone saw it and told Yo'av, "I saw Avshalom hanging in a terebinth."

The man replied to Yo'av, "Even if I were to get a thousand pieces of silver, I still wouldn't raise my hand against the son of the king! After all, while we were listening, the king ordered you, Avishai and Ittai, 'Be careful that no one touches young Avshalom.'

Yo'av said, "I can't waste time arguing with you!" He took three darts in his hand and rammed them through Avshalom's heart while he was still alive, hanging from the terebinth.

Then Yo'av's ten young armor-bearers surrounded Avshalom, struck him and killed him.

They took Avshalom and threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled a big heap of stones over him. All Isra'el fled, each one to his tent.

In his own lifetime Avshalom had taken and raised for himself the pillar which stands in the King's Valley; because he said, "I don't have a son to preserve the memory of my name." So he named the pillar after himself, and it's called Avshalom's Monument to this day.

The king asked, "Is everything all right with young Avshalom?" Achima'atz answered, "When Yo'av sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a big commotion; but I didn't know what it was."