II Samuel - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 329
The History of the People of Israel
By the life ofthe Evan-r.1v1N<;, and by the life of your Majesty the king, I will be at the place, wherever your Majesty the king is; whether for death or life, there will your March,
So Athai the gardener and all his men and all the children with them passed over. And all the land wept with a loud voice, when the force passed with the king over the brook Kidron. Thus all the train passed in the direction of the desert. There were also Zadok, and all the Levites with him carrying the Ark of the Covenant of GOD. But they set down the Ark, and helped Abiathar, until all the forces had passed out from the city. The king, however, said to Zadok,
‘Take back the Ark of GOD to the city. If I lind favour in thesight of the Evmz-Livmo, and He brings me back, I shall see it, and His Dwelling. But if He decides not to restore me to you, let Him do to me what is good The king also said to Cheer up, and return quietly to the city with Akhimatz your son, and ]0nathan— ben~Abiathar’s two sons with you. You see, I shall be waiting at Aboth in the pastures, until the coming of news from you to inform me. Zadok and Abiathar therefore re-
turned the Ark of GOD to jerusalem, and went back there. But David as· cended the Mount of Zethim} going up and weeping with his head covered. He marched with his head covered, and all the troops with him also veiled their heads,—-·and went ascend- ing and weeping. Then it was reported to David that Akhitophel was in the conspiracy with Absalom, when LORD frustrate 1 Olives.-———F. F. But when David came to the peak, where they worship GOD, Hushai, the Arki, came to meet him, tearing his robes and with earth on his head. If you go along with me, you will be a. burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom; ‘ I was a minister of the king your father, and will be the same to you,’ then you can be of service to me, and can break the contrivances of Akhitophel for me. Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be assisting you? So that all the talk you hear in the king’s palace you can communicate to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. They have also two lads, Akhimatz with Zadok, and jhonathan with Abiathar, and they will transmit by their hand to me everything that you may hear} Hushai consequently went to watch
for David in the city after Absalom came to jerusalem. 34 35 37
When David passed a little beyond I6 the hil1·tops, there came Ziba, the steward of Meiibosheth, to_ meet him with a troop of asses loaded, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, ahundred cakes of raisins, a hundred bundles of vegetables, and a skin of wine. . But the king asked Ziba, 2 ‘ Whence have you come ?' The asses
are for the family of the king to ride, and the bread and raisins for your attendants to eat, and the wine to drink if exhausted in the desert. Where is 3 ? ’ He
has gone back to jerusalem, for he said, ‘ The House of Israel will now restore to me the kingship of my The king consequently said to Ziba,
‘Attendi All belonging to Meli- And Ziba l bow to you, for I have found favour in the eyes of the From there David proceeded to
Bakhurim, and a- man of the clan of the family of Saul came out from it, whose name was Shemai-ben-Gerah, who advanced cursing, and throwing stones at David and all of David’s officers, and at the people, and the guards on the right and left of him. Shemai also shouted aloud thus:
