2 Samuel 17:8
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
This saying belongs to Hushai the Archite's reply when Absalom, who highly esteemed him as his father's counselor, asked his judgment on Ahithophel's plan to take twelve thousand men and pursue David that night while David was weary and weak, a plan that would have destroyed David if followed. Hushai had not been called to the council and would not intrude unasked lest he be suspected as a spy, but after the assembly dispersed he declared Ahithophel's counsel not good at this time. By describing David's men as mighty men chafed in mind like a bear robbed of her whelps, he meant they were strong warriors made fierce and angry like a mother bear deprived of its young.
By describing David as a man of war who would not lodge with the people, he meant David was an experienced soldier who would not sleep among the troops but would be hidden in a pit or some other place. He meant Absalom's forces would therefore not capture David, and any setback would discourage Absalom's supporters and harm Absalom's cause. His warning was directed by a wisdom higher than Ahithophel's, for the Lord had appointed to defeat Ahithophel's sound counsel in order to bring ruin upon Absalom. He spoke to stop immediate action and to turn Absalom toward gathering all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and going to battle in his own person.