False prophets tell lies, but the Lord shows that their lies are false. He makes fools of those who do magic. He confuses even the wise. They think they know a lot, but he makes them look foolish.
Someone told David, “Ahithophel is one who joined in Absalom’s plot against you.” Then David prayed, “Lord, I ask you to make Ahithophel give only foolish advice.”
When Ahithophel saw that the Israelites did not do what he suggested, he saddled his donkey and went back to his hometown. He made plans for his family and then hanged himself. They buried him in his father’s tomb.
The Egyptians will be afraid and confused. They will ask their false gods and wise men what they should do. They will ask their wizards and magicians, but I will ruin their plans.”
Skies, rejoice for what the Lord has done. Earth, shout for joy down to your deepest parts! Start singing, you mountains and all you trees in the forest! Yes, the Lord has saved Jacob. He has shown his glory by rescuing Israel.
Absalom and all the Israelites said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” Actually, Ahithophel’s advice was good, but they said this because the Lord had decided to make Ahithophel’s advice useless. He did this to punish Absalom.
But if you go back to Jerusalem, you can disagree with Ahithophel and make his advice useless. Tell Absalom, ‘King, I am your servant. I served your father, but now I will serve you.’
But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!”
At this place, I will ruin the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The enemy will chase them, and I will let the people of Judah be killed with swords in this place. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild animals.
The people of Edom might say, “We were destroyed, but we will go back and rebuild our cities.” But the Lord All-Powerful says, “If they rebuild their cities, I will destroy them again.” That is why people say Edom is an evil country—a nation the Lord hates forever.