14 Then David told all the servants who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come on! We have to run for it, or we won’t be able to escape Absalom. Hurry, or he will catch up with us in no time, destroy us, and attack the city with the sword."
15 The king’s servants said to him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our master the king decides."
16 So the king left, with his entire household following him, but he left ten secondary wives behind to take care of the palace.
17 So the king left, with all his people following him, and they stopped at the last house.
18 All the king’s servants marched past him, as did all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you coming with us too? Go back! Stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner and an exile from your own country.
20 You just got here yesterday. So today should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I have to go? No. Go back, and take your relatives with you. May the Lord show you loyal love and faithfulness."