And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom Jehovah, and this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

And Chusai answered Absalom: Nay: for I will be his, whom the Lord hath chosen, and all this people, and all Israel, and with him will I abide.

And Hushai said to Absalom, No; but whom Jehovah, and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

And Hushai saith unto Absalom, 'Nay, for he whom Jehovah hath chosen, and this people, even all the men of Israel, his I am, and with him I abide;

And Hushai said to Absalom, Not so; I am for that man whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have taken as king, and I will take my place with him.

Hushai said to Absalom, 'No; but whomever the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his will I be, and with him I will stay.

And Hushai responded to Absalom: "By no means! For I will be his, whom the Lord has chosen. And I, and all this people, and all of Israel, will remain with him.

Whom the Lord and this people - choose - Here is an equivocation; Hushai meant in his heart that God and all the people of Israel had chosen David; but he spake so as to make Absalom believe that he spoke of him: for whatever of insincerity may appear in this, Hushai is alone answerable. What he says afterwards may be understood in the same way.

And Hushai said to Absalom,.... In answer to his questions:
nay, but whom the Lord, and his people, and all the men of Israel choose: here again he speaks very ambiguously; for this circumlocution, or descriptive character of the king of Israel, better agrees with David, whom he might bear in mind, than with Absalom; for the Lord had chosen David, and he was anointed by his order, and all the people of Israel had chosen and anointed him likewise; but as for Absalom, it was only a part of them that had declared for him, nor was there any evidence of the Lord's choosing him; though Hushai undoubtedly would be under stood of him, and as interpreting the voice of the people to be the voice of God:
his will I be, and with him will I abide; though he designed no such thing, which was a great piece of dissimulation and hypocrisy; and if he meant David, it was a piece of deceit and equivocation: there is a various reading in the first clause; we follow the marginal reading, "to him" or "his", but the textual reading is "not": and both may be taken in by rendering the words by an interrogation, "shall I, or should I not be his" (d)? I will; that is, be his servant, faithfully obey his commands, be closely attached to him, and continue with him as a loyal subject.
(d) "non ero", Montanus; "non essem ejus?" Junius & Tremellius.