9. “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.”So Absalom went to Hebron.
10. But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’”
11. He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions.
12. While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.
13. A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”
14. “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”
15. “We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”
16. So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace.
17. The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house
18. to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard.
19. Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, “Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile.
20. You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the lord show you his unfailing love and faithfulness.”
21. But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the lord and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”