13 Then a messenger came to David , saying , " The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom ." 14 David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem , " Arise and let us flee , for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom . Go in haste , or he will overtake us quickly and bring down calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword ." 15 Then the king's servants said to the king , "Behold , your servants are ready to do whatever e my lord the king chooses ." 16 So the king went out and all his household with him. But the king left ten concubines to keep the house . 17 The king went out and all the people with him, and they stopped at the last house . 18 Now all his servants passed on beside e him, all the Cherethites , all the Pelethites and all the Gittites , six hundred men who had come with him from Gath , passed on before the king . 19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite , "Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king , for you are a foreigner and also an exile ; return to your own place . 20 "You came only yesterday , and shall I today make you wander with us, while I go where e I will? Return and take back your brothers ; mercy and truth be with you." 21 But Ittai answered the king and said , "As the Lord lives , and as my lord the king lives , surely e wherever e e my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life , there also your servant will be." 22 Therefore David said to Ittai , "Go and pass over ." So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice , all the people passed over . The king also passed over the brook Kidron , and all the people passed over toward e the way of the wilderness .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 15:13-23
Commentary on 2 Samuel 15:13-23
(Read 2 Samuel 15:13-23)
David determined to quit Jerusalem. He took this resolve, as a penitent submitting to the rod. Before unrighteous Absalom he could justify himself, and stand out; but before the righteous God he must condemn himself, and yield to his judgments. Thus he accepts the punishment of his sin. And good men, when they themselves suffer, are anxious that others should not be led to suffer with them. He compelled none; those whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be. Thus Christ enlists none but willing followers. David cannot bear to think that Ittai, a stranger and an exile, a proselyte and a new convert, who ought to be encouraged and made easy, should meet with hard usage. But such value has Ittai for David's wisdom and goodness, that he will not leave him. He is a friend indeed, who loves at all times, and will adhere to us in adversity. Let us cleave to the Son of David, with full purpose of heart, and neither life nor death shall separate us from his love.