2 Samuel 16:17
ESV
And Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?"
NIV
Absalom said to Hushai, "So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?"
NASB
But Absalom said to Hushai, 'Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?'
CSB
"Is this your loyalty to your friend?" Absalom asked Hushai. "Why didn’t you go with your friend?"
NLT
Is this the way you treat your friend David?' Absalom asked him. 'Why aren’t you with him?'
KJV
And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?
NKJV
So Absalom said to Hushai, “ Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
What does 2 Samuel 16:17 mean?
David has known enemies, loyalists, devoted guards, and counselors, but he had very few close friends. The first is Jonathan, son of King Saul, who bound his heart to David and promised to serve him as king (1 Samuel 23:17–18). Another is Hushai, an old man apparently from the tribe of Ephraim (Joshua 16:1–2). When David fled Absalom's army, Hushai appeared with torn clothes and dirt on his head: a picture of mourning, intending to join David in exile (2 Samuel 15:32).So, when Hushai arrives in Jerusalem, offering to advise the new king, Absalom has reason to be suspicious. When Hushai cries, "Long live the king!" (2 Samuel 16:15–16), Absalom is confused.
There are multiple reasons why Hushai didn't go with his friend. The first that is David thought him too old. The elderly man would slow down the caravan racing to safety. The second is that David had a greater purpose for him. David had just learned that his best advisor, Ahithophel, had fallen in with Absalom. Absalom was charming and ambitious, but young. Ahithophel's inclusion in Absalom's circle is bad for David (2 Samuel 15:31).
In turn, God provided Hushai. Hushai could make it seem that his purpose is to advise whomever God and the people call to be king, whether that's David or his son. Once Absalom trusts him, he can counter Ahithophel's advice and uses the priests to send word of Absalom's plans (2 Samuel 15:34–37). That is why Hushai isn't with his friend David. Not because he has betrayed him, but because he's willing to put his life on the line to save him.
