5 When a person approached to bow down to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.
6 Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for a settlement. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.
8 For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the Lord really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.”
9 “Go in peace,” the king said to him. So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent messengers throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron! ’ ”
11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they knew nothing about the whole matter.