2. Moreover, Absalom used to rise early and stand alongside the road leading to the gate. If someone had a lawsuit to be decided by the king, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he replied, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel,”
3. Absalom would say to him, “Your case is good and just, but there is no one to hear you in the king’s name.”
4. And he would continue: “If only I could be appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a lawsuit to be decided might come to me and I would render him justice.”
5. Whenever a man approached him to show homage, he would extend his hand, hold him, and kiss him.
6. By behaving in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment, Absalom was stealing the heart of Israel.
7. After a period of four years, Absalom said to the king: “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.