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Chapter 18NeagoeInvataturi.1.18

AICI S-AU SCULAT AVESALOM ASUPRA TĂTÂNE-SĂU, LUI DAVID

Absalom's Rebellion and Ahithophel's Treachery

The chapter begins by recounting Absalom's rebellion against his father David, instigated by the devil, and details Ahithophel's wicked counsel to Absalom, which included dishonoring David's concubines and attacking him directly.

Here, in the same way, Absalom rose up against his own father, David, to take the kingdom from him, driven on by the devil.1 That's why he too died, shot through the heart, and came to a bad end, as you'll see written out briefly further on.23 When Absalom decided to make his move for the throne, he said to Ahithophel, his chief counselor: "Give me your counsel now — let's see what we should do!4 "5 And Ahithophel said: "Go and sleep with your father David's concubines, the ones he left behind to keep the house — then all Israel will hear that you've made a mockery of him, and after that they'll side with you."6 So Absalom hung curtains in David's great hall and went in and slept with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.7 For that was how Ahithophel's counsel stood with Absalom, as it had before with David: as though a man were asking for the word of God itself.8 Then Ahithophel said to Absalom: "Let me pick out twelve9 thousand men and go out with them tonight to chase David down, until I overtake him. Then, with his whole army worn out, they'll run and scatter, and King David will be left alone, and I'll kill him. And I'll turn all his troops around, so they come over to you, the way a wife turns back to her husband.✦ Because it's only his life you want and hunger for, while everyone else will have peace.✦10 This advice pleased Absalom, and he said, "Call in Hushai the Archite as well, and let's see what advice he gives us."✦ And when they had called him, Absalom said, "Here's the advice Ahithophel has given. Shall we go by his counsel and do what he says, or not?✦ You speak too, and tell us what you make of it."✦

Hushai's Counter-Counsel and Divine Intervention

Hushai the Archite advises Absalom against Ahithophel's plan, emphasizing David's military prowess and God's will, leading to the divine overruling of Ahithophel's counsel and its ultimate failure.

Hushai the Archite said to Absalom:✦11 "The advice Ahithophel has given isn't good.✦ "Believe me — you know it well yourself — your father and all his men are seasoned fighters, brave in war, as fierce as she-bears that have just given birth, and as swift as stags."✦✦12 And your father is a man of war, and he won't lose his men that easily. Because look—by now he'll have hidden himself somewhere in the hills or another place with his troops, and he'll be leading his army. So when your troops come up against David, his men will hear the noise and uproar from the sentries, and they'll spring up at once, and everyone from your army who goes out to hunt him down will be killed. And David has the heart of a lion on the prowl, and all Israel knows your father is a brave fighter and that every one of his best warriors is with him."13 Now Ahithophel was a shrewd man, extremely calculating, and a good adviser in every matter—for good ends and for evil ones alike. That's why David was afraid of his clever schemes, and he secretly sent Hushai, his own counselor, as a spy to Absalom, to wreck Ahithophel's advice—which is exactly what he did. For Scripture says that even though Ahithophel's advice was sound and would have won the victory over David, look how it came to nothing—because that counsel wasn't according to God's judgment, or his will.14 That's why God brought it to nothing. For Scripture also says: "Whatever plan you make, God will undo it, if the plan you make is evil."✦15 And: "You won't receive what you ask for out of injustice, because you asked wrongly" — and whatever words you speak and whatever plans you make won't stand firm among you.✦✦16 For God is the one who gives counsel in everything good, and he's the one who establishes kingdoms and sets up kings.✦ So understand this, all of you, and submit, because God stands by his servants and helps them, and no one will ever be able to match God's glory.✦ Listen, to the ends of the earth: God is with us — with the emperors and with the lords, who are his mighty servants.✦17 So submit — because even if you do have power, if God isn't in those unjust plans of yours, you'll still be shamed and defeated. For those who put their hope in God won't be afraid, nor will they be troubled by any fear of you.✦ For he is the defender and the support of those who fear him. And it says that whoever puts their hope in him will find sanctification in him — because every single one of us, whatever office or honor God has appointed and arranged for us, if we set our minds and our thoughts on him and wait in faith for help from him, will be rescued and delivered from all our enemies, the ones we can see and the ones we can't.18 And it further says: "I will put my hope in him, and through him I will be saved." For God, the strong and the true, is the one who will save his anointed and the servant who waits patiently on him out of the hands of all his enemies.19 For any work that God doesn't love and doesn't want, even if someone starts building it, they never finish it—it falls apart quickly and soon. So anyone who sets out to do something against God's will falls and is scattered, their bones and skull shattered against the stone of stumbling.20 Now we need to pick up again the account we set aside. Absalom and all the Israelites said, "Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's." And God ordained that Ahithophel's advice, good as it was, should come to nothing, so that all this evil would fall on Absalom.21 For it would in fact have turned out just as Ahithophel had counseled and said. But because it wasn't God's will, that's exactly why he broke it by his own command.)

Ahithophel's Downfall and David's Return

Ahithophel, seeing his counsel rejected, commits suicide, while David returns to Mahanaim, and the chapter warns against rebelling against God's anointed rulers, as such actions lead to self-destruction.

And when Ahithophel saw that they wouldn't go along with what he wanted, and that his advice wasn't carried out, he got up and went off to his own estate; and once he was inside his house, he sent everyone out, hanged himself, and died. And they buried him in his father's tomb. Meanwhile David came to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan along with all the Israelites. Pay attention now and see: whoever rises up against the emperor, God's anointed, without the command of the One on high, will do him no damage and cause him no harm whatever—instead, he'll kill his own soul and lose it.2223

The Battle and Absalom's Demise

During the battle, David orders his commanders to spare Absalom, but Absalom is tragically killed by Joab after being caught in a tree, and his body is cast into a pit.

And it happened that as the day approached for David's armies to clash with his son Absalom's, King David ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying: “Be careful—don't kill my son Absalom!24 ” And the whole camp heard the king order his commanders not to kill his son Absalom. And the whole army marched out into a wood against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And there the Israelites fell before David's armies—twenty25 thousand men. Then the armies spread out over the meadow, and the meadow filled with men cut down, and there was more death then than there had been at first. But Absalom fled from his father's armies, grabbed his mule and mounted it, and rode off across the meadow through a stand of thick trees. And then, as he was riding like that, an oak branch caught him by the hair of his head, and the mule went on out from under him, while Absalom was left hanging by his hair from that oak branch. But one of David's servants saw him hanging from that tree, and he went and told Joab: "I saw Absalom hanging by his hair from a tree."✦ Joab said to him, "But if you saw him, why didn't you bring him down and kill him?"✦ I would have given you fifty shekels of silver and a belt."✦26 But that servant said, "Even if you had given me a thousand shekels of silver, I still wouldn't lay my hand on the king's son.✦27 Because I heard the king give orders to you and to Abishai and to Ittai: "Be careful — none of you is to kill my son Absalom!"✦ "28 So it isn't right for me to do such a wrong against my own soul, because nothing can be hidden from the king.✦29 And you yourself would stand against him."✦30 But Joab said, "Enough — I'm going; I won't stand here in front of you."✦ And Joab took three arrows in his hand and drove them into Absalom's heart while he was still hanging from that oak — and up to that moment he was still alive.✦31 And ten of Joab's servants, the men who carried his weapons, rushed in and struck Absalom down and finished him off.✦ And Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops turned back from chasing Israel, and Joab took Absalom's body and threw it into a great pit.✦32

Lessons on Judgment and Forgiveness

The chapter reflects on the principle of divine retribution, emphasizing that evil deeds lead to ruin, and then expounds on the importance of forgiveness through the parable of the unforgiving servant, urging readers to forgive as they have been forgiven.

Here, too, the prophet's word was fulfilled, the word that says: "He dug a pit for another man—and worse still, for a righteous king—and he himself fell into the pit he had made for someone else."✦✦3334 So, my dear ones, you're bound — and it's only right for us — to keep ourselves clear of every kind of envy and slander and of all other wickedness, all of it.35 Because you should know for certain that every single person — prince or boyar, learned or unlettered, rich or poor — "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap," and however someone ties up his load, that's how he'll have to carry it. For every person will be vindicated by his own deeds, and by his own deeds he will be condemned. So what are the good deeds? They are faith, hope, and love; forgiving the offenses of those who wrong you; and the peace of God, which is the bond of perfection — along with all the other virtues, every one of them.36 And the evil deeds are these: sexual immorality, impurity, treachery, refusing to forgive your neighbors their offenses, and flying into anger over nothing at all, for no reason — which is the knot that ties up hostility and every other kind of wickedness, all of them.37 For God taught these very things in the Holy Gospel and said: "If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses." Now if God has commanded that the offenses of those who really have done wrong be forgiven, how much more should the innocent be pardoned and left with no trouble at all — and no one should hold anger or spite against anyone else over something worthless, least of all against his emperor and his lord.38 So what judgment will such a person face? What answer will he have to give, and to what tormenting punishment—how much harsher a one—will a man like that be condemned as guilty?39 That's why we need to set out and tell you, dear ones, more fully and more plainly, the things God has said.40 For Peter said: "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times? "41 And Jesus said to him, "I don't say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." That's why he compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who wanted to settle accounts with those who owed him. So, as he began to reckon up and take account, they brought him a debtor who owed ten thousand talents. Since the man had nothing to pay with, the king ordered that he be sold—he himself, his wife, his children, and everything else he had.42 But that servant in debt fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, be patient with me, and I will pay you everything." Then that king was moved with mercy for the servant, and let him go, and even forgave him the whole debt. But as soon as that servant went outside, he found a neighbor who owed him a hundred coins. He grabbed him and started choking him, saying, “Pay me what you owe me.”43 But his neighbor fell at his feet and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I'll pay you everything.” But he refused. Instead, he dragged him away and threw him into prison until he could pay off the debt. And when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved, and they went and told their master everything that had happened.44 Then his master summoned him and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you the whole debt because you begged me. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your neighbor, just as I had mercy on you? ” And his master was furious with him and handed him over to the jailers until he should pay the whole debt.45 My heavenly Father will do the same to you if each of you doesn't forgive his brother's offenses from your hearts.” So stay alert, because you don't know what hour our Lord will come.

The Call to Watchfulness and Discernment

The chapter concludes with a call to constant watchfulness and readiness, as the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour, reminding believers that while many are called, few are chosen.

And know this too: if the master of the house had known what hour the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and wouldn't have let his house be broken into.46 So you be ready as well, because the Son of Man will come at the very hour when you aren't expecting him.47 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Read the original Romanian

Aici s-au sculat așijderea Avesalom asupra tătâne-său, lui David, să-i ia împărățiia, fiind îndemnat de diavolul. Pentru acéia muri și el săgetat pren inimă și rău să sfârși, cum vei vedea mai nainte scris pre scurt.

Când vru Avesalom să să scoale spre împărăție, el zise cătră Ahitofel, svétnicul său cel mare: „Sfătuiți-vă acum, să vedem ce vom face! “. Iar Ahitofel zise: „Pasă dă te culcă și tu cu posadnicile tătâne-tău, lui David, care le-au lăsat să-i păzească casa, și vor auzi toți israiliténii că țe-ai bătut joc de dânsul și deacii vor fi cu tine“. Iar Avesalom tinse zăvése în divanul cel mare al lui David și mérse de să culcă cu posadnicile tătânesău înaintea tuturor israiliténilor. Că așa era sfatul lui Ahitofel cătră Avesalom mai nainte de David, ca când ar întreba cineva de cuvântul lui Dumnezeu. Deacii zise Ahitofel cătră Avesalom: „Să-mi aleg cu mine 12. 000 de oameni și să mergu cu dânșii la noapte să gonescu pre David, până îl voi ajunge. Deacii oștile lui fiind toate ostenite, vor fugi și să vor răsipi, iar împăratul David va rămânea singur și-l voi ucide.

Și voi întoarce toate oștile lui, de vor veni la tine, ca cum să întoarce o nevastă cătră bărbatul său. Căci că tu numai sufletul lui vei și pohtești, iar alalți oameni vor avea toți pace. Și plăcu acestu sfat lui Avesalom și zise: „Chemați și pre Husie Arahiin, să vedem și el ce sfat ne va da“. Și deaca-l chemară zise Avesalom: „Iată cum sfătui Ahitofel; fi-va după sfatul lui și face-vom după zisa lui, au ba? Zi și tu cum te pricepi“. Husie Arahiil zise cătră Avesalom; ? Nu iaste bun acest sfat ce au sfătuit Ahitofel. Crezi, tu bine știi, că tată-tău și toți oamenii lui suntu toți vitéji buni și hrăbori la război, și dârji ca ursoaicele céle fătate, și ageri ca cerbii.

Și tată-tău iaste om războinic și nu-și va piiarde oamenii săi așa lesne. Că iată, el acum să va fi ascunsu vre într-un munte sau vre într-un loc cu oștile lui, și va fi el în fruntea oștilor. Deacii, cându vor ajunge oștile tale la David, iară oștile lui vor auzi gomot și gâlceavă de la străji, și vor sări degrab’ și vor peri toți cei ce vor mérge să-l gonească den oștile tale. Și David are inimă ca de leu zburdat și știe tot Israilul că iaste tată-tău viteazu și oștile céle vitéze toate suntu cu dânsul“. Iar Ahitofel era om iscusit și chibzuit foarte și sfétnic bun spre toate lucrurile, și spre céle bune și spre céle réle. Pentru acéia să temea David de meșterșugurile lui și trimise într-ascunsu pre Husie sfétnicul său iscoadă la Avesalom, ca să strice sfatul lui Ahitofel, cum le și strică. Că zice Scriptura că, de-au fost sfaturile lui Ahitofel bune și de izbândă asupra lui David, iar iată că să strică, că n-au fost acel sfat cu socotința lui Dumnezeu, nici cu voia lui. Pentru acéia Dumnezeu îl strică.

Că iar mai zice Scriptura: Orce sfat veți sfătui, strica-l-va Dumnezeu, de-l veți sfătui rău“. Și „ce veți cére pre nedreptate, voi nu veți lua, că ați cerșut rău“ și ce cuvinte veți vorbi și veți sfătui, nu vor fi stătătoare întru voi. Că Dumnezeu iaste care dă sfat spre toate lucrurile céle bune, și acela face împărățiile, și el pune împărați. Pentru acéia pricépeți toți și vă plecați, că Dumnezeu stă și ajută robilor șăi și nimeni nu să va putea potrivi slavei lui Dumnezeu. Auziți până la marginile pământului, că Dumnezeu iaste cu noi, cu împărații și cu domnii, carii suntem robii lui cei putérnici. Dar plecațivă, că măcar de-ați și avea putére, iar Dumnezeu, deaca nu va fi în sfaturile voastre céle nedrépte, iar veți fi rușinați și biruiți. Că cei ce să vor nădăjdui pre Dumnezeu, acéia nu să vor téme, nici vor griji de frica voastră. Că acela iaste apărător și sprijinitoriu celor ce să tem de dânsul.

Și zice că cel ce să va nădăjdui spre dânsul, el îi va fi întru sfințire, pentru că toți, fieștecare, cine la ce slujbă sau cinste va fi rânduit și tocmit de Dumnezeu, și deaca-și vor pune cugetele pre dânsul și gândul, și să aștépte cu credință ajutor de la el, spăsise-va și să va mântui de toți vrăjmașii lui cei văzuți și cei nevăzuți. Și mai zice: „Nădăjdui-mă-voi spre dânsul, și pentru dânsul mă voi spăsi“. Că Dumnezeu cel tare și cel adevărat, acela va spăsi pre unsul său și îngăduitoriul lui den mâinile tuturora vrăjmașilor lui. Că tot lucrul carele nu-l iubéște Dumnezeu, nici îl voiaște, măcar deși începe omul a-l face, tot nu-l sfârșaște, ci curând și degrab’ să strică. Pentru acéia, cel ce va să facă ceva preste voia lui Dumnezeu, el cade și să răsipește și i să zdrobescu oasele și capul de piatra împiedecării.

Acum trebue să ne apucăm iar de cuvântul ce am lăsat înapoi. Că zice Avesalom și toți israiliténii: „Mai bun iaste sfatul lui Husie decât a lui Ahitofel. Și porunci Dumnezeu să să strice sfatul a lui Ahitofel, cel bun, ca să aducă toată răutatea asupra a lui Avesalom. (Că cum sfătuise și zise Ahitofel, așa vrea fi și fost. Iar căci nu fu cu voia lui Dumnezeu, pentr-acéia-l și strică cu porunca sa.) Iar Ahitofel, deaca văzu că nu lăsară pre voia lui, nici să umplu sfatul său, să sculă și să duse în curtea sa, și deaca întră în casă-și, scoase pre toți afară și să sugrumă el însuși și muri. Și-l îngropară în mormântul tătâne-său. Iar David veni în Manaim, iar Avesalom trecu Iordanul denpreună cu toți israiliténii.

Ia aminte acum și vezi: cel ce să scoală asupra împăratului și unsul lui Dumnezeu, fără porunca celui de sus, nu-i va strica nimic, nici îi va face nici un rău, ci mai vârtos își va omorî sufletul și și-l va piiarde.

Și fu când să apropie ziua să să lovească oștile lui David cu ale fie-său, lui Avesalom, porunci împăratul David lui Ioav și lui Aves și lui Efteev, zicând: „Să păziți, să nu cumva să ucideți pre fie-meu Avesalom! “ Și auzi toată tabăra când zise împăratul domnilor să nu omoară pre Avesalom, fiiul său. Și eși toată tabăra într-o dumbravă împotriva lui Israil și fu război în dumbrava lui Efram. Și piereră acolea israiliténii de oștile lui David 20. 000 de oamini. Deacii să răshirară oștile pre luncă și să umplu lunca de oameni tăiați, și fu mai multă moarte decât întâi. Iar Avesalom fugi de oștile tătâne-său și-și apucă mâșcoiul și încălecă, și fugea pre luncă pentre niște copaci deși. Și, iată, fugind el așa, îl apucă de părul capului o ramură de un stăjariu și mâșcoiul trecu, iar Avesalom rămase spânzurat de păr întracea ramură de stăjariu.

Iar o slugă de-ale lui David îl văzu spânzurând de acel copaci și mérse de spuse lui Ioav, zicând: „Eu am văzut pre Avesalom spânzurat de păr de un copaci“. Iar Ioav îi zise: „Dar deaca l-ai văzut, căci nu l-ai dat jos și să-l fi ucis? Iar eu țe-aș fi dat 50 de sicle de argint și un brâu“. Iar sjuga acéia zise: „Măcar de mi-ai fi dat și o mie de sicle de argint, încă nu voi pune mâna mea pre feciorul împăratului. Că am auzit că au poruncit împăratul ție și lui Aves și lui Efteev, zicând: „Să păziți, să nu ucideți cumva pre fie-mieu Avesalom! “. Deci nu să cade să să facă nedreptate sufletului său, că nici un lucru nu să poate ascunde înaintea împăratului. Iar tu stai împotriva lui“.

Iar Ioav zise: „Iată, eu voi mérge, nu voi sta înaintea ta“. Și luo Ioav în mâna sa 3 săgeți și le înfipse în inima lui Avesalom, încă stând el spânzurat de acel stejar, și era până atuncea tot viu. Și să răpeziră 10 slugi de-ale lui Ioav, care-i purta armele lui, și-l uciseră pre Avesalom de-l omorâră. Și trâmbiță Ioav cu trâmbița, și să întoarseră oștile den goana lui Israil, și luo Ioav trupul lui Avesalom și-l aruncă într-o peșteră mare.

Aicea încă să umplu cuvântul prorocului, care zise: „Săpă groapă omului și mai vârtos împăratului celui drept, și căzu el însuși în groapa care o făcuse altuia“.

Pentru acéia, iubiții mei, sunteți datori și ni se cade să ne ferim de toate pizmele și mozaviriile și de alte răutăți, de toate. Că să știți cu adevărat, că tot omul, măcar domn, măcar boiar, măcar înțelept, măcar neștiut, măcar bogat, măcar sărac, „ori ce va sămăna, acéia va și secera“ și cine cum își va lega sarcina, așa o va și duce. Că tot omul din lucrurile sale să va îndrepta, și din lucrurile sale să va osândi. Dar lucrurile céle bune care sunt? Iaste credința, nădéjdea și dragostea, și a erta greșalele celor ce greșescu și pacea lui Dumnezeu, care iaste legătura cea desăvârșită, denpreună cu alte bunătăți, cu toate. Dar lucrurile céle réle sunt acéstea: curviia, necurățiia, ficleșugul și a nu erta greșalele vecinilor, și cine să mânie în zadar și pentru nimic, care iaste legătura înfășurării vrajbii și a altor răutăți, a tuturora. Că acéstea au învățat Dumnezeu în Sfânta Evanghelie și au zis: „De veți erta oamenilor greșalele lor, și voao vă va erta tatăl vostru cel cerescu, iar de nu veți erta oamenilor greșalele lor, nici tatăl vostru cel cerescu nu va erta greșalele voastre“. Dar, de vréme ce au poruncit Dumnezeu să să iarte greșalele celor ci au greșit, dar cu cât mai vârtos să fie ertați cei nevinovați și să n-aibă nici o învăluială, nici să aibă mâinie și pizmă cineva pre altul pentru lucru di nimic, și mai ales pre împăratul și pre domnul său.

Acela ce judecată va să aibă, sau ce răspunsu și a ce muncită muncă, și mai cumplită va fi vinovat unul ca acela?

Dreptu acéia, să cade să arătăm și să spunem mai ales și mai chiar dragostei voastre céle ce au zis Dumnezeu. Că Petru zise: „Doamne, dar de câte ori, deaca-mi va greși fratele mieu, îl voi erta, au doar de 7 ori? “. Iar Iisus zise lui: „Nu-ți zic ție de 7 ori, ci de 70 de ori câte 7 ori“. Drept acéia, aseamănă împărățiia ceriului cu un împărat care vrea să-și ia seama cu datornicii. Deacii, cum începu a socoti și a-și lua seama, iată aduseră la dânsul un datornic, care era datoriu un întunérec de talanți și, neavând de unde să-i dea, porunci împăratul să-l vânză și pre el, și pre muiarea lui, și pre copiii lui, și alt tot ce va fi având. Iar acel rob datoriu căzu la picioarele lui și-i zise: „Doamne, așteaptă-mă și-ți voiu plăti tot“. Deacii împăratului acela i să făcu milă de acel rob și-l lăsă și încă-i ertaă și datoriia toată.

Iar robul acela, deaca eși afară, află pre un vecin al lui, care-i era datoriu 100 de bani și-l apucă de-l sugrumă, zicându-i: „Plătește-mi ce-mi ești datoriu“. Iar vecinul lui căzu la picioarele lui și i se ruga, zicând: „Așteaptă-mă, că-ți voi plăti tot“. Iar el nu vru, ci-l duse de-l băgă în temniță, până să va plăti de datorie. Iar soțiile lui, văzând acélea ce fură, să întristară foarte și mérseră de spuseră stăpână-său toate câte fură. Atuncea chemă pre dânsul domnu său și-i zise: „Slugă hicleană, eu toată datoriia țe-am ertat, căci m-ai rugat, dar ție nu ți să cădea să-ți fie milă de vecinul tău, cum îmi fu mie milă de tine? “ Și să mânie pre dânsul domnu-său și-l déde armașilor, până va plăti toată datoriia. Așa și tatăl mieu cel cerescu va face voao, de nu veți erta fieștecarele fratelui său din inimile voastre greșalele lor. Privegheați dar, că nu știți în ce ceas va veni Domnul nostru.

Și să știți și aceasta, că de-ar fi știut stăpânul casei ce în vréme va veni furul, ar fi priveghiiat și n-ar fi lăsat să-i sape casa. Pentr-acéia fiți gata și voi, că într-acela ceas va veni fiiul omenescu, în care voi nu vă veți nădăjdui. Că mulți sunt chemați, iar puțini aleși.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩2Sam.17.3 — And I will bring all the people back to you, as the whole comes back — the man whom you are seeking — all the people will be at peace.
  2. ↩2Sam.17.3 — And I will bring all the people back to you, as the whole comes back — the man whom you are seeking — all the people will be at peace.
  3. ↩2Sam.17.4-2Sam.17.5 — And the thing was pleasing in the eyes of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. 2Sam.17.5 — Then Absalom said, 'Call also for Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he has to say as well.'
  4. ↩2Sam.17.6 — Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom said to him, "This is what Ahithophel has spoken. Shall we do what he says? If not, you speak."
  5. ↩2Sam.17.6 — Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom said to him, "This is what Ahithophel has spoken. Shall we do what he says? If not, you speak."
  6. ↩2Sam.17.7 — And Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good."
  7. ↩2Sam.17.7 — And Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good."
  8. ↩2Sam.17.8 — Then Hushai said, "You know your father and his men — they are warriors, fierce in spirit, like a bereaved bear in the field. Your father is a man of war and will not stay overnight with the people.
  9. ↩2Sam.2.18 — And the three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot, like one of the gazelles in the open field.
  10. ↩Isa.8.10 — Form a plan, but it will be broken; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
  11. ↩Jas.4.3 — You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures.
  12. ↩Isa.8.10 — Form a plan, but it will be broken; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
  13. ↩Dan.2.21 — And it is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
  14. ↩Isa.8.9 — Rage, O peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far reaches of the earth; gird yourselves, and be shattered; gird yourselves, and be shattered.
  15. ↩Isa.8.9-Isa.8.10 — Rage, O peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far reaches of the earth; gird yourselves, and be shattered; gird yourselves, and be shattered. Isa.8.10 — Form a plan, but it will be broken; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
  16. ↩Isa.8.12 — Do not call a conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, and do not be terrified.
  17. ↩2Sam.18.10 — A certain man saw it and reported to Joab, saying, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in the oak tree."
  18. ↩2Sam.18.11 — Joab said to the man who reported to him, "Look, you saw him — so why did you not strike him there to the ground? Then it would have been my responsibility to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
  19. ↩2Sam.18.11 — Joab said to the man who reported to him, "Look, you saw him — so why did you not strike him there to the ground? Then it would have been my responsibility to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
  20. ↩2Sam.18.12 — But the man said to Joab, "Even if I had a thousand pieces of silver weighed into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. For the king himself commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai in our hearing, 'Guard the young man Absalom for me.'"
  21. ↩2Sam.18.12 — But the man said to Joab, "Even if I had a thousand pieces of silver weighed into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. For the king himself commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai in our hearing, 'Guard the young man Absalom for me.'"
  22. ↩2Sam.18.13 — Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life, and no matter can be hidden from the king; and you yourself would have stood opposed.
  23. ↩2Sam.18.13 — Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life, and no matter can be hidden from the king; and you yourself would have stood opposed.
  24. ↩2Sam.18.14 — Then Joab said, "I will not wait before you." And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak.
  25. ↩2Sam.18.14 — Then Joab said, "I will not wait before you." And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak.
  26. ↩2Sam.18.15 — Then ten young men who carried Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.
  27. ↩2Sam.18.16-2Sam.18.17 — Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people turned back from pursuing Israel, for Joab held back the people. 2Sam.18.17 — They took Absalom and threw him into the great pit in the forest, and they heaped over him a very great mound of stones; and all Israel fled, each to his tent.
  28. ↩Prov.26.27 — Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and the one who rolls a stone—it will come back on him.
  29. ↩Eccl.10.8 — Whoever digs a pit may fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall, a snake may bite them.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩"așijderea" (likewise/in the same way) ties this chapter back to the preceding account of Saul, where evil counsel is likewise traced to the devil rather than to God. Keeping the connective preserves the argument's continuity.
  2. 2 ↩"mai nainte" here is textual rather than temporal — it points ahead to what follows in the book, not to something said earlier. Rendered "further on".
  3. 3 ↩"Pentru acéia" is consequential ("for that reason"), drawing the moral conclusion from Absalom's devil-prompted revolt; "și el" ("he too") links his death to Saul's in the previous chapter, who likewise fell on his own weapon.
  4. 4 ↩"svétnicul său cel mare" is literally "his great counselor"; rendered "chief counselor" for the court office Ahithophel held (2 Samuel 15:12).
  5. 5 ↩This "sentence" consists only of the closing quotation mark and a period stranded by the segmenter; it belongs to the end of s1 and carries no independent content.
  6. 6 ↩"posadnice" (a Slavonic loanword) means concubines kept in the royal household, matching the ten concubines of 2 Samuel 15:16.
  7. 7 ↩"divanul cel mare" renders a Turkish/court term for the royal audience chamber; the biblical parallel places the tent on the palace roof (2 Samuel 16:22). Kept as "great hall" to follow the Romanian text rather than harmonizing it to Scripture.
  8. 8 ↩The comparison is not praise of Ahithophel but a measure of how absolutely his advice was trusted — which makes the ruin it brings all the sharper. The Romanian "mai nainte de David" is read as "earlier, in David's service."
  9. 9 ↩The numeral 12,000 is split across the segmentation break: "12." ends this sentence and "000" begins the next. Translated as the single figure it plainly is (2 Samuel 17:1).
  10. 10 ↩Romanian 'sufletul lui' is literally 'his soul'; here it carries the biblical idiom for a person's life, i.e. seeking a man's death. Rendered 'life' rather than 'soul' to preserve the sense.
  11. 11 ↩The source reads 'Husie Arahiil zise cătră Avesalom; ?' — the stray semicolon and question mark appear to be transmission noise where the printed text opens Hushai's speech. Translated as a speech introduction.
  12. 12 ↩'dârji ca ursoaicele céle fătate' is literally 'stubborn/fierce as she-bears that have whelped'; the biblical parallel speaks of a bear robbed of her cubs. The source's wording is kept.
  13. 13 ↩Literally a lion 'let loose' or running wild — the image is of a lion at full, unrestrained strength, not merely a fierce one.
  14. 14 ↩'Socotință' here means God's reckoning or considered purpose; rendered 'judgment' to keep it paired with 'will' rather than flattening both into a single word.
  15. 15 ↩The printed sentence carries a closing quotation mark with no matching opening mark; the quoted span has been taken to begin at "Orce sfat" ("Whatever plan"), which the syntax and the parallel quotation in the next sentence support.
  16. 16 ↩"pre nedreptate" can mean either "unjustly" (with a wrong motive) or "for an unjust end"; the closing clause "că ați cerșut rău" ("because you asked wrongly") tips the sense toward the corrupt motive, matching James 4:3.
  17. 17 ↩"God is with us" is the Immanuel refrain of Isaiah 8:10; the author folds himself and his fellow rulers into the "us", which is his own application rather than the prophet's.
  18. 18 ↩"întru sfințire" is literally "unto sanctification/holiness"; the sense is that God himself becomes the hoping person's sanctification. "Spăsise-va și să va mântui" pairs two near-synonyms for salvation (Slavonic-derived *spăsi* and *mântui*), rendered here as "rescued and delivered" to keep the doubling audible.
  19. 19 ↩"Îngăduitoriul lui" can mean either the one who is patient/forbearing toward God's timing or the one who is indulgent toward others; in this context — David waiting out Absalom's revolt — the sense of patient endurance under God's hand fits best.
  20. 20 ↩"Piatra împiedecării" is the biblical stone of stumbling (Isaiah 8:14), kept here rather than flattened to "an obstacle" because the image ties this sentence back to the sanctification promise in s1, which draws on the same passage.
  21. 21 ↩'să să strice sfatul' literally 'that the counsel be broken/undone'; rendered 'come to nothing' to keep the sense of a sound plan deliberately frustrated by God.
  22. 22 ↩The source reads "asupra împăratului și unsul lui Dumnezeu" — literally "against the emperor and the anointed of God." The two phrases almost certainly name one person (the ruler as God's anointed), so the "și" is rendered as an appositive rather than as a second object; the case of "unsul" (nominative rather than genitive) reflects the older orthography and supports reading it as an apposition.
  23. 23 ↩"ci mai vârtos" is adversative and intensifying ("but rather, all the more"); rendered as "instead" plus the emphatic contrast, since the sentence's whole force is that the harm rebounds entirely onto the rebel.
  24. 24 ↩The Romanian forms Ioav, Aves, and Efteev render the biblical names Joab, Abishai, and Ittai (2 Samuel 18:2, 5); the English standard forms are used here.
  25. 25 ↩The numeral 20,000 is split across two segmented sentences by the period inside the figure; together s4–s5 read 'twenty thousand men' (cf. 2 Samuel 18:7).
  26. 26 ↩The source reads 50 shekels; the standard biblical account at 2 Samuel 18:11 has ten shekels. The number is translated as it stands in this text.
  27. 27 ↩"sjuga" is read as "sluga" (the servant), a straightforward orthographic slip in the source.
  28. 28 ↩This sentence unit contains only a stray closing quotation mark and period left by the segmentation of the source; it carries no translatable content.
  29. 29 ↩"nedreptate sufletului său" is literally "an injustice to his soul," in third person; the sense within the servant's speech is that he would be wronging his own soul/life, as at 2 Samuel 18:13. Rendered in the first person for coherence, with the soul-language kept.
  30. 30 ↩The source has "împotriva lui" ("against him"); the parallel at 2 Samuel 18:13 has Joab setting himself against the speaker ("against me"). The reading of the source is kept as it stands.
  31. 31 ↩Romanian săgeți is rendered "arrows"; the underlying biblical term (2 Samuel 18:14) is often translated "darts" or "javelins." The sense — three shafts driven into Absalom while he hung — is the same.
  32. 32 ↩The Romanian reads peșteră, "cave"; the biblical account (2 Samuel 18:17) has Absalom's body cast into a great pit in the forest and covered with stones. "Pit" is used here as the plainly intended sense, with the source wording noted.
  33. 33 ↩"mai vârtos" is an intensifier in older Romanian, roughly "all the more" / "especially"; here it escalates the offense from digging a pit for an ordinary man to digging one for the anointed king, so it is rendered "and worse still."
  34. 34 ↩Attributed to "the prophet," but the wording tracks the psalm about the pit-digger falling into his own pit (Ps. 7:15–16 / 9:15 in the Slavonic-Vulgate numbering), with proverbial parallels at Prov. 26:27 and Eccl. 10:8. The exact source anchor is a candidate only, left for later resolution.
  35. 35 ↩"mozavirii" means malicious talk against someone behind their back — slander/backbiting; rendered "slander" to keep the pairing with "pizme" (envy, spite) concrete.
  36. 36 ↩"dragostea" is rendered "love" per lexeme policy; in this triad with faith and hope it carries the sense of charity as a theological virtue.
  37. 37 ↩"legătura înfășurării vrajbii" is literally "the bond of the wrapping-up of enmity" — deliberately mirroring "the bond of perfection" in the previous sentence; rendered "the knot that ties up hostility" to preserve that contrast.
  38. 38 ↩"învăluială" here means harassment or being caught up in trouble; rendered "trouble" rather than a narrower legal term, since the context is unresolved.
  39. 39 ↩The old Romanian runs loosely: "a ce muncită muncă, și mai cumplită" is a figura etymologica (muncă here = torment/punishment, not labor) with a dangling comparative "și mai cumplită" ("and an even more terrible one"). Rendered as "to what tormenting punishment — how much harsher a one"; the comparative is taken to intensify the punishment, following the a fortiori argument of the preceding section (if ordinary offenses must be forgiven, how much worse for one who wrongs the innocent and his own lord).
  40. 40 ↩"dragostei voastre" is a courteous form of address — literally "to your love/charity," an old way of saying "to you whom I love." Rendered here as "you, dear ones" to keep the warmth without the archaic formula.
  41. 41 ↩The source "sentence" contains only the closing quotation mark and a period left over from the segmentation of the previous sentence; it carries no words of its own.
  42. 42 ↩"un întunérec de talanți" is literally "a darkness of talents" — an old Slavonic-derived idiom in which "darkness" (тьма) means ten thousand, matching the Gospel's figure.
  43. 43 ↩"vecin" is rendered "neighbor," following the source; in the Gospel parable behind this passage the figure is a fellow servant. The Romanian text's own word is kept.
  44. 44 ↩"soțiile lui" here means his companions/fellow servants (older Romanian "soț" = companion), not "his wives"; rendered "his fellow servants."
  45. 45 ↩"armași" were the ruler's enforcement officers (executioners/jailers) in Wallachian usage; rendered "jailers," matching the parable's tormentors who hold the debtor until payment.
  46. 46 ↩"să-i sape casa" is literally "to dig through his house" — the older idiom for breaking in through a mud-brick wall. Rendered as "broken into" for sense.
  47. 47 ↩"nu vă veți nădăjdui" here carries the older sense of "you will not be looking for / anticipating," not "you will not hope"; translated as "aren't expecting."

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