1 Now it came about after this that Absalom provided himself with a chariot, horses and 50 men as runners before him.
2 Absalom used to rise up early and stand beside the road to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a suit to come to the king for justice, then Absalom would call to him and say, “What town are you from?” Should he answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no one assigned to you by the king to hear you.”
4 Moreover, Absalom would say, “If only I were appointed judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or case would come to me, and I would get him justice!”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached to bow to him, he would stretch his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.