Then David said to all of his officers who were with him in Jerusalem, “We must escape! {If we don’t escape}, then Absalom will not let us get away. Let’s hurry before Absalom catches us. He will destroy us all. And he will kill the people of Jerusalem.”
King David sent {a message} to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. David said, “Speak to the leaders of Judah. Say, ‘Why are you the last family group to bring King David back to his house? See, all the Israelites are talking about bringing the king back to his house.
All the people in all the family groups of Israel began to argue. They said, “King David saved us from the Philistines and our other enemies. David ran away from Absalom.
The Israelites chose their kings, but they didn’t come to me for advice. The Israelites chose leaders. But they didn’t choose men that I knew. The Israelites used their silver and gold to make idols {\cf2\super [77]} for themselves. So they will be destroyed.