²³And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed qthe brook rKidron, and all the people passed on toward sthe wilderness.

²⁴And tAbiathar came up, and behold, uZadok came also with all the Levites, vbearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. ²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will wbring me back and let me see both it and his xdwelling place. ²⁶But if he says, ‘I have no ypleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, zlet him do to me what seems good to him.” ²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a aseer? Go back5 to the city in peace, with byour two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, I will wait at cthe fords of sthe wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

³⁰But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, dbarefoot and ewith his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, fweeping as they went. ³¹And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please gturn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

³²While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai hthe Archite came to meet him iwith his coat torn and idirt on his head. ³³David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be ja burden to me. ³⁴But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, k‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king's house, ltell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶Behold, mtheir two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, mand by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” ³⁷So Hushai, nDavid's friend, came into the city, ojust as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

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