3. And I will lead back the entire people, returning in the manner of one man. For you are seeking only one man. And all the people shall be in peace."
4. And this word pleased Absalom and all those greater by birth of Israel.
5. But Absalom said, "Summon Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he also may say."
6. And when Hushai had gone to Absalom, Absalom said to him: "Ahithophel has spoken a word in this manner. Should we do it or not? What counsel do you give?"
7. And Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given at this time is not good."
8. And again Hushai declared, "You know your father, and the men who are with him, to be very strong and bitter in soul, comparable to a bear raging in the forest when her young have been taken away. Moreover, your father is a man of war, and so he will not live among the people.
9. Perhaps now he hides in pits, or in another place, wherever he wills. And if by chance, in the beginning, anyone may fall, whoever hears about it, no matter what he has heard, will say, 'There is a slaughter among the people who were following Absalom.'
10. And even the very strong, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will be weakened out of fear. For all the people of Israel know your father to be a valiant man, and that all who are with him are robust.
11. But this seems to me to be the right counsel: Let all of Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand of the sea which is innumerable. And you will be in their midst.
12. And we shall rush against him in whatever place he will have been found. And we shall cover him, as the dew usually falls upon the ground. And we shall not leave behind even one of the men who are with him.