7 Now it came to pass ^aafter forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^bHebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord.  ‡

8 ^aFor your servant ^btook a vow ^cwhile I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”  ‡

10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom ^areigns in Hebron!’ ”  ‡

11 And with Absalom went two hundred men ^ainvited from Jerusalem, and they ^bwent along innocently and did not know anything.  ‡