2Sa 17:1-14, Psa 2:2, 83:3, Mat 26:3-4, 27:1 | ESV | STEP | Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom , Let me choose twelve thousand men , and I will arise and pursue David tonight .

2 Samuel 17:1-14

Hushai Saves David

1 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is ^aweary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. ^bI will strike down only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew back to you. Like the return of the whole is the man whom you seek} and all the people will be at peace.” 4 And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5 Then Absalom said, “Call ^dHushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” 6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.” 7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, ^{▼▼Hebrew bitter of soul} ^flike a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. 9 Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall ^{▼▼Or And as he falls on them} at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10 Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly ^hmelt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. 11 But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, ⁱfrom Dan to Beersheba, ^jas the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. 13 If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” 14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” ^kFor the Lord had ordained ^{▼▼Hebrew commanded} to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

Psalms 2:2

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his ^mAnointed, saying,

Psalms 83:3

3 They lay ⁿcrafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your ^otreasured ones.

Matthew 26:3-4

3 ^pThen the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^qthe palace of the high priest, whose name was ^rCaiaphas, 4 ^sand plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

Matthew 27:1

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

1 ^tWhen morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^utook counsel against Jesus to put him to death.