1  Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom: 'Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night;

1  And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Let me now choose out for myself twelve thousand men, and I will arise and follow after David this night

2Sm17:2  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.

2  and I will come upon him while he is weary 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;

2Sm17:3  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.”

3  and I will bring back all the people unto thee; when all shall have returned, save the man whom thou seekest, all the people will be in peace.'

2Sm17:4  And this word pleased Absalom and all those greater by birth of Israel.

4  And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.

4  And the saying was right in the eyes of Abessalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.

2Sm17:5  But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he also may say.”

5  Then said Absalom: 'Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.'

5  And Abessalom said, Call now also Chusi the Arachite, and let us hear what is in his mouth, even in his also.

2Sm17:6  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?”

6  And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying: 'Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner; shall we do after his saying? if not, speak thou.'

6  And Chusi went in to Abessalom, and Abessalom spoke to him, saying, After this manner spoke Achitophel: shall we do according to his word? but if not, do thou speak.

2Sm17:7  And Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given at this time is not good.”

7  And Hushai said unto Absalom: 'The counsel that Ahithophel hath given this time is not good.'

7  And Chusi said to Abessalom, This counsel which Achitophel has counselled this one time is not good.

2Sm17:8  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.

8  Hushai said moreover: 'Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are embittered 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.

2Sm17:9  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.’

9  Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some place; and it will come to pass, when they fall upon them at the first, and whosoever heareth it shall say: There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom;

9  For, behold, he is now hidden in one of the hills or in some other place: and it shall come to pass when he falls upon them at the beginning, that some one will certainly hear, and say, There has been a slaughter among the people that follow after Abessalom.

2Sm17:10  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.

10  then even he that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they that are with him are valiant men.

2Sm17:11  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.

11  But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

2Sm17:12  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.

11  Therefore I counsel that when all Israel is gathered to you from Dan to Beer-sheba, then you yourself march in their midst.

12  So shall we come upon him in 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 we will not leave so much as one.

2Sm17:13  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.”

13  Moreover, if he withdraw himself into a city, then shall all Israel bring up ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the valley until there be not one small stone found there.'

13  And if he shall have taken refuge with his army in a city, then shall all Israel take ropes to that city, and we will draw it even into the river, that there may not be left there even a stone.

2Sm17:14  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.

14  And Absalom and all the men of Israel said: 'The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.'--For YHWH had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the YHWH might bring evil upon Absalom.

14  And Abessalom, and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Chusi the Arachite is better than the counsel of Achitophel. For the Lord ordained to disconcert the good counsel of Achitophel, that the Lord might bring all evil upon Abessalom.

2Sm17:15  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.