📖 2 Samuel — Chapter 17 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
2 Samuel 17:1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and RI will arise and pursue after David this night:
2 Samuel 17:2 And I will come upon him while he is Rweary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
2 Samuel 17:3 And RI will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.
2 Samuel 17:4 And Rthe saying Tpleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
2 Samuel 17:5 Then said Absalom, Call now RHushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise Twhat he saith.
2 Samuel 17:6 And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after This saying? if not; speak thou.
2 Samuel 17:7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath Tgiven is Rnot good at this time.
2 Samuel 17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be Rmighty men, and they be Tchafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
2 Samuel 17:9 Behold, Rhe is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be Toverthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
2 Samuel 17:10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall Rutterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
2 Samuel 17:11 Therefore I counsel that Rall Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and Tthat thou go to battle in thine own person.
2 Samuel 17:12 So shall we come upon him Rin some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
2 Samuel 17:13 Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not Rone small stone found there.
2 Samuel 17:14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had RTappointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
2 Samuel 17:15 Then said Hushai unto RZadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
2 Samuel 17:16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, RLodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
2 Samuel 17:17 Now RJonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.
2 Samuel 17:18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in RBahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.
2 Samuel 17:19 And the woman took and Rspread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
2 Samuel 17:20 And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, RThey be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 17:21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, RArise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
2 Samuel 17:22 Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, Rand they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
2 Samuel 17:23 And when Ahithophel Rsaw that his counsel was not Tfollowed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and Tput his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
2 Samuel 17:24 Then David came to RMahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
2 Samuel 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was RTIthra an Israelite, that went in to TAbigail the daughter of TNahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.
2 Samuel 17:26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
2 Samuel 17:27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi Rthe son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
2 Samuel 17:28 Brought Rbeds, and Tbasons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,
2 Samuel 17:29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and Rcheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 17:1–14 — Two counsels and God’s overruling
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Ahithophel proposes an immediate pursuit aimed at killing David. Hushai counters with an argument for assembling a much larger force and having Absalom lead it. Absalom accepts Hushai’s counsel. The narrator attributes the defeat of Ahithophel’s effective strategy to the LORD’s purpose against Absalom; effective does not mean morally good.
Key Truth: Human strategy remains under God’s sovereignty.
Check What You Remember
1. How many men did Ahithophel propose to choose? (2 Samuel 17:1)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:1 (KJV).
2. Whom did Absalom call for a second opinion? (2 Samuel 17:5)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:5 (KJV).
3. Whose counsel did Absalom accept? (2 Samuel 17:14)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:14 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 17:15–22 — A warning reaches David
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Hushai sends the priests an urgent warning. Jonathan and Ahimaaz carry it, escaping discovery by hiding in a covered well. They reach David, and everyone with him crosses Jordan before morning. Several ordinary acts of communication and protection help preserve the group.
Key Truth: Faithful service can depend on small, courageous responsibilities.
Check What You Remember
1. Which two messengers waited by Enrogel? (2 Samuel 17:17)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:17 (KJV).
2. Where did the messengers hide? (2 Samuel 17:18)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:18 (KJV).
3. Which river did all David’s people cross? (2 Samuel 17:22)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:22 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 17:23–29 — Loss, pursuit, and practical care
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Ahithophel returns home and takes his own life after his counsel is rejected; the passage records this tragedy without commending it. Absalom appoints Amasa and continues the pursuit. At Mahanaim, Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai provide bedding and food for David’s exhausted people. Practical mercy stands beside the chapter’s losses.
Key Truth: Hungry, weary people need concrete care as well as words.
Check What You Remember
1. Which city did David reach? (2 Samuel 17:24)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:24 (KJV).
2. Who became Absalom’s captain instead of Joab? (2 Samuel 17:25)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:25 (KJV).
3. Which Gileadite helped bring supplies? (2 Samuel 17:27)
Find it in 2 Samuel 17:27 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Proverbs 19:21 — This proverb contrasts human plans with the LORD’s enduring counsel.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Who around you is weary and needs practical help? Consider one task, meal, or act of support you can offer without needing attention for it.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What advantage does Ahithophel’s first plan seek to exploit?
2. How does Hushai counter the assumption that David is easily reached?
3. What does Hushai’s alternative require that the first plan does not?
4. What explanation does the narrator give for rejection of Ahithophel’s counsel?
5. How does the hidden-messenger episode preserve David’s escape?
Notes
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