2 Samuel 15:34
But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
The verse belongs to the account of Absalom's rebellion against David and David's fearful flight from Jerusalem before Absalom's base conduct and Ahithophel's treachery. It records David's plan for Hushai to return to the city, offer himself to Absalom as his servant as he had served David, and thereby help defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. That rebellion is presented as one of the family calamities that followed David's wrong against Uriah and as part of the larger history of retribution and judgments David suffered in his later life for his great transgression, unfolding especially within his own family.
The verse stands within the troubles in David's family in chapters 13 to 20 that revolve around Absalom and grow out of David multiplying wives to himself, where idleness, luxury, and jealousy helped develop unenviable characters. It stands on David's pathetic journey in flight that touched the hearts of his old friends. It teaches the lesson that no one can walk contrary to God's laws without suffering, because every transgression of divine law carries its inherent curse even when God does not openly reprove.