1. Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.
2. I will attack him while he is weary and weak-handed, and terrify him so that all the people that are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king when he is alone.
3. Then I will bring all the people back to you—when all will have returned except the man you are seeking, then all the people will be at peace.”
4. Now the plan seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5. Then Absalom said, “Call now Hushai the Archite also. Let’s hear what he has to say as well.”
6. When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him saying, “This is what Ahithophel has advised. Should we follow his counsel? If not, you will speak.”
7. So Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.”
8. Hushai then added, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and they are embittered in their souls like a bear robbed of her cubs in the wild. Your father is an expert in warfare, and won’t spend the night with the troops.
9. Even now, he must be hiding in one of the caves or in some other place. So if he were to fall on them at first, whoever hears of it would say, ‘There’s a slaughter among the people following Absalom!’
10. Then even one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt away—for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior and those who are with him are valiant men.
11. Instead, I counsel that all Israel be gathered altogether to you—from Dan to Beersheba, as abundant as the sand by the sea—and that you personally go into the battle.