Bible in Basic English
And all the people went on by his side; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the men of Ittai of Gath, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, went on before the king.
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you coming with us? go back and keep with the king: for you are a man of another country, you are far from the land of your birth.
It was only yesterday you came to us; why then am I to make you go up and down with us? for I have to go where I may; go back then, and take your countrymen with you, and may the Lord's mercy and good faith be with you.
And Ittai the Gittite in answer said, By the living Lord, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, for life or death, there will your servant be.
And David said to Ittai, Go forward, then. And Ittai the Gittite went on, with all his men and all the little ones he had with him.
And there was great weeping in all the country when all the people went through; and the king himself was waiting in the Kidron valley and all the people went by him in the direction of the olive-tree on the edge of the waste land.
Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by.
And the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the town: if I have grace in the eyes of the Lord, he will let me come back and see it and his House again:
But if he says, I have no delight in you: then, here I am; let him do to me what seems good to him.
The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.
See, I will be waiting at the way across the river, in the waste land, till I get news from you.
So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and did not go away from there.
And David went up the slopes of the Mount of Olives weeping all the way, with his head covered and no shoes on his feet: and all the people who were with him, covering their heads, went up weeping.
And word came to David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who are joined to Absalom. And David said, O Lord, let the wisdom of Ahithophel be made foolish.
Now when David had come to the top of the slope, where they gave worship to God, Hushai the Archite came to him in great grief with dust on his head:
David said to him, If you go on with me, you will be a trouble to me:
But if you go back to the town and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as in the past I have been your father's servant, so now I will be yours: then you will be able to keep Ahithophel's designs against me from being put into effect.
And have you not there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? so whatever comes to your ears from the king's house, give word of it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
See, they have with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar; by them you may send word to me of everything which comes to your ears.
So Hushai, David's friend, went into the town, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.
— 2 Samuel 15:18-1964, Bible in Basic English
“All his servants were leaving with him, along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites– some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with the king. Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite,“Why should you come with us? Go back and stay with the new king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own country. It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men with you. May genuine loyal love protect you!” But Ittai replied to the king,“As surely as the LORD lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means death or life, there I will be as well!” So David said to Ittai,“Come along then.” So Ittai the Gittite went along, accompanied by all his men and all the dependents who were with him. All the land was weeping loudly as all these people were leaving. As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving on the road that leads to the desert. Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city. Then the king said to Zadok,“Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s sight he will bring me back and enable me to see both it and his dwelling place again. However, if he should say,‘I do not take pleasure in you,’ then he will deal with me in a way that he considers appropriate.” The king said to Zadok the priest,“Are you a seer? Go back to the city in peace! Your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan may go with you and Abiathar. Look, I will be waiting at the fords of the desert until word from you reaches me.” So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there. As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. All the people who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went up. Now David had been told,“Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom. So David prayed,“Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O LORD. When David reached the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite met him with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. David said to him,“If you leave with me you will be a burden to me. But you will be able to counter the advice of Ahithophel if you go back to the city and say to Absalom,‘I will be your servant, O king! Previously I was your father’s servant, and now I will be your servant.’ Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you. Everything you hear in the king’s palace you must tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Furthermore, their two sons are there with them, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You must send them to me with any information you hear.” So David’s friend Hushai arrived in the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.”
And the king's servants said to the king, See, your servants are ready to do whatever the king says is to be done.
So the king went out, taking with him all the people of his house, but for ten of his women, who were to take care of the house.
And the king went out, and all his servants went after him, and made a stop at the Far House.
And all the people went on by his side; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the men of Ittai of Gath, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, went on before the king.
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you coming with us? go back and keep with the king: for you are a man of another country, you are far from the land of your birth.
It was only yesterday you came to us; why then am I to make you go up and down with us? for I have to go where I may; go back then, and take your countrymen with you, and may the Lord's mercy and good faith be with you.
And Ittai the Gittite in answer said, By the living Lord, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, for life or death, there will your servant be.
And David said to Ittai, Go forward, then. And Ittai the Gittite went on, with all his men and all the little ones he had with him.
And there was great weeping in all the country when all the people went through; and the king himself was waiting in the Kidron valley and all the people went by him in the direction of the olive-tree on the edge of the waste land.
Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by.
And the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the town: if I have grace in the eyes of the Lord, he will let me come back and see it and his House again:
But if he says, I have no delight in you: then, here I am; let him do to me what seems good to him.
The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.
See, I will be waiting at the way across the river, in the waste land, till I get news from you.
So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and did not go away from there.
And David went up the slopes of the Mount of Olives weeping all the way, with his head covered and no shoes on his feet: and all the people who were with him, covering their heads, went up weeping.
And word came to David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who are joined to Absalom. And David said, O Lord, let the wisdom of Ahithophel be made foolish.
Now when David had come to the top of the slope, where they gave worship to God, Hushai the Archite came to him in great grief with dust on his head:
David said to him, If you go on with me, you will be a trouble to me:
But if you go back to the town and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as in the past I have been your father's servant, so now I will be yours: then you will be able to keep Ahithophel's designs against me from being put into effect.
And have you not there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? so whatever comes to your ears from the king's house, give word of it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
See, they have with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar; by them you may send word to me of everything which comes to your ears.
So Hushai, David's friend, went into the town, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.