11. Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the lord has told him to do it.
12. And perhaps the lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”
13. So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
14. The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.
15. Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel.
16. When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”
17. “Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
18. “I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the lord and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied.
19. “And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”
20. Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”
21. Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.”
22. So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.
23. Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.