²³ Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, ^(A)both by David and by Absalom.

¹⁴ And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” ^(A)For the Lord had ordained^[a] to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to ^(A)his own city. He ^(B)set his house in order and ^(C)hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.