2 Samuel 15:30-37·~1 min

David Weeps at the Mount of Olives

David ascends the Mount of Olives weeping, barefoot and covered, with all the people mourning beside him. Then he learns that Ahithophel has joined Absalom’s side.

B³⁰ut David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”

At the summit, Hushai meets David in mourning, but David sends him back to Jerusalem to oppose Ahithophel’s counsel and relay what he hears through the priests and their sons. Hushai reaches the city as Absalom arrives.

³²When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’ ³⁵Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace. ³⁶Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.” ³⁷So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

Section summaryDavid climbs the Mount of Olives in grief, and the sorrow of the people rises with him. Yet even there, with betrayal closing in, he turns mourning into measured action by sending Hushai back to frustrate Ahithophel and report what happens in Jerusalem.

Role in the chapterThis closing section gives the rebellion its deepest emotional note while preparing the next movement of the story. David is shown both broken and alert, grieving openly yet still responding with prayerful dependence and practical strategy.