And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelek, ‘Call out your whole army!’ ”
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;
Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.