⁷ And after ^[a]four years, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord at ^[b]Hebron [my birthplace]. ⁸ For your servant made a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram (Syria), ‘If the Lord will in fact bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord [by offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving].’” ⁹ And [David] the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹ Then two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited [as guests to his sacrificial feast] went with Absalom. They went innocently and knew nothing [about his plan against David]. ¹² And Absalom sent for ^[c]Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom increased continually.