1 And when David had passed a little beyond the top of the mountain, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, appeared to meet him, with two donkeys, which were burdened with two hundred loaves, and one hundred bunches of dried grapes, and one hundred masses of dried figs, and a skin of wine.
2 And the king said to Ziba, “What do you intend to do with these things?” And Ziba responded: “The donkeys are for the household of the king, so that they may sit. And the loaves and dried figs are for your servants to eat. But the wine is for anyone to drink who may be faint in the desert.”
3 And the king said, “Where is the son of your lord?” And Ziba answered the king: “He remained in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ “
4 And the king said to Ziba, “All the things which were for Mephibosheth are now yours.” And Ziba said, “I beg you that I may find grace before you, my lord the king.”
5 Then king David went as far as Bahurim. And behold, a man from the kindred of the house of Saul, named Shimei, the son of Gera, went out from there. And going out, he continued on, and he was cursing,
6 and throwing stones against David and against all the servants of king David. And all the people and all the warriors were traveling to the right and to the left sides of the king.
7 And so, as he was cursing the king, Shimei said: “Go away, go away, you man of blood, and you man of Belial!
8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood of the house of Saul. For you have usurped the kingdom in place of him. And so, the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom, your son. And behold, your evils press close upon you, because you are a man of blood.”
9 Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go and cut off his head.”
10 And the king said: “What is it to me and to all of you, O sons of Zeruiah? Permit him, so that he may curse. For the Lord has commanded him to curse David. And who is the one who would dare to say, ‘Why has he done so?’ “
11 And the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: “Behold, my son, who went forth from my loins, is seeking my life. How much more does a son of Benjamin do so now? Permit him, so that he may curse, in accord with the command of the Lord.
12 Perhaps the Lord may look with favor upon my affliction, and the Lord may repay me good, in place of the cursing of this day.”
13 And so, David continued walking along the way, and his associates with him. But Shimei was advancing along the ridge of the mountain on the side opposite him, cursing and throwing stones at him, and scattering dirt.
14 And the king and the entire people with him, being weary, went and refreshed themselves there.
15 But Absalom and all his people entered into Jerusalem. Moreover, Ahithophel was with him.
16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, had gone to Absalom, he said to him: “May you be well, O king! May you be well, O king!”
17 And Absalom said to him: “Is this your kindness to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
18 And Hushai responded to Absalom: “By no means! For I will be his, whom the Lord has chosen. And I, and all this people, and all of Israel, will remain with him.
19 But then too, I declare this: whom should I serve? Is it not the son of the king? Just as I have been subject to your father, so will I be subject to you also.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Present a counsel as to what we ought to do.”
21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom: “Enter to the concubines of your father, whom he left behind in order to care for the house. Thus, when all of Israel will hear that you disgraced your father, their hands may be strengthened with you.”
22 Therefore, they spread a tent for Absalom on the rooftop. And he entered to the concubines of his father in the sight of all Israel.
23 Now the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was treated as if one were consulting God. So was every counsel of Ahithophel, both when he was with David, and when he was with Absalom.
1 Then Ahithophel said to Absalom: “I will choose for myself twelve thousand men, and rising up, I will pursue David this night.
2 And rushing against him, for he is weary and has weakened hands, I will strike him. And when all the people who are with him will have fled, I will strike down the king in isolation.
3 And I will lead back the entire people, returning in the manner of one man. For you are seeking only one man. And all the people shall be in peace.”
4 And this word pleased Absalom and all those greater by birth of Israel.
5 But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he also may say.”
6 And when Hushai had gone to Absalom, Absalom said to him: “Ahithophel has spoken a word in this manner. Should we do it or not? What counsel do you give?”
7 And Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given at this time is not good.”
8 And again Hushai declared, “You know your father, and the men who are with him, to be very strong and bitter in soul, comparable to a bear raging in the forest when her young have been taken away. Moreover, your father is a man of war, and so he will not live among the people.
9 Perhaps now he hides in pits, or in another place, wherever he wills. And if by chance, in the beginning, anyone may fall, whoever hears about it, no matter what he has heard, will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who were following Absalom.’
10 And even the very strong, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will be weakened out of fear. For all the people of Israel know your father to be a valiant man, and that all who are with him are robust.
11 But this seems to me to be the right counsel: Let all of Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand of the sea which is innumerable. And you will be in their midst.
12 And we shall rush against him in whatever place he will have been found. And we shall cover him, as the dew usually falls upon the ground. And we shall not leave behind even one of the men who are with him.
13 And if he will enter into any city, all of Israel shall encircle that city with ropes. And we will pull it into the torrent, so that there may not be found even one small stone from it.”
14 And Absalom, with all the men of Israel, said: “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” So, by an act of the Lord, the useful counsel of Ahithophel was defeated, in order that the Lord might lead evil over Absalom.
15 And Hushai said to the priests, Zadok and Abiathar: “Ahithophel gave counsel to Absalom and to the elders of Israel in this and that manner. And I gave counsel in such and such a manner.
16 Now therefore, send quickly, and report to David, saying: ‘You shall not stay this night in the plains of the desert. Instead, without delay, go across. Otherwise the king may be engulfed, and all the people who are with him.’ “
17 But Jonathan and Ahimaaz remained beside the Fountain of Rogel. And a handmaid went away and reported it to them. And they set out, so that they might carry the report to king David. For they could not be seen, nor enter into the city.
18 But a certain young man saw them, and he revealed it to Absalom. Yet truly, they traveled quickly and entered into the house of a certain man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they descended into it.
19 Then a woman took and spread a covering over the mouth of the well, as if drying hulled barley. And so the matter was hidden.
20 And when the servants of Absalom had entered into the house, they said to the woman, “Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman responded to them, “They passed through hurriedly, after they had taken a little water.” But those who were seeking them, when they had not found them, returned to Jerusalem.
21 And when they had gone, they ascended from the well. And traveling, they reported to king David, and they said: “Rise up, and go across the river quickly. For Ahithophel has given a counsel of this kind against you.”
22 Therefore, David rose up, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed over the Jordan, until first light. And not even one of them was left behind who had not crossed over the river.
23 Then Ahithophel, seeing that his counsel had not been done, saddled his donkey, and he rose up and went away to his own house and to his own city. And putting his house in order, he killed himself by hanging. And he was buried in the sepulcher of his father.
24 Then David went to the encampment, and Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25 Truly, Absalom appointed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. Now Amasa was the son of a man who was called Ithra of Jezrael, who entered to Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruiah, who was the mother of Joab.
26 And Israel made camp with Absalom in the land of Gilead.
27 And when David had arrived at the encampment, Shobi, the son of Nahash, from Rabbah, of the sons of Ammon, and Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite of Rogelim,
28 brought to him bedding, and tapestries, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and cooked grain, and beans, and lentils, and fried chick peas,
29 and honey, and butter, sheep and fattened calves. And they gave these to David and to the people who were with him to eat. For they suspected that the people were faint with hunger and thirst in the desert.
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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.
3 And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.
4 But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.
5 So may all flesh know that I, the Lord, have led my sword out of its sheath irrevocably.
6 And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.
7 And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, For it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!
10 It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.
11 And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.
12 Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,
13 for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.
14 You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,
15 and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.
16 Be sharpened! Go to the right or to the left, whichever way is the desire of your face.
17 And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
19 And as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.
20 You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.
22 To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.
23 And he shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.
24 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.
25 But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:
26 Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?
27 Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.
28 And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,
29 while they look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.
30 Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.
31 And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.
32 You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”
4 I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my spirit swooned away.
5 My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not.
6 I thought upon the days of old: and I had in my mind the eternal years.
7 And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised and I swept my spirit.
8 Will God then cast off for ever? or will he never be more favourable again?
9 Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from generation to generation?
10 Or will God forget to shew mercy? or will he in his anger shut up his mercies?
11 And I said, Now have I begun: this is the change of the right hand of the most High.
15 In those days, Peter, rising up in the midst of the brothers, said (now the crowd of men altogether was about one hundred and twenty):
16 Noble brothers, the Scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit predicted by the mouth of David about Judas, who was the leader of those who apprehended Jesus.
17 He had been numbered among us, and he was chosen by lot for this ministry.
18 And this man certainly possessed an estate from the wages of iniquity, and so, having been hanged, he burst open in the middle and all his internal organs poured out.
19 And this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that this field was called in their language, Akeldama, that is, ‘Field of Blood.’
20 For it has been written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let their dwelling place be desolate and may there be no one who dwells within it,’ and ‘Let another take his episcopate.’
21 Therefore, it is necessary that, out of these men who have been assembling with us throughout the entire time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John, until the day when he was taken up from us, one of these be made a witness with us of his Resurrection.”
23 And they appointed two: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And praying, they said: “May you, O Lord, who knows the heart of everyone, reveal which one of these two you have chosen,
25 to take a place in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas prevaricated, so that he might go to his own place.”
26 And they cast lots concerning them, and the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.
