Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a strang…

And David said to Ittai, go, and pass over
It being his resolution to abide with him, he urged him no more to depart…

David determined to leave Jerusalem. He took this resolve as a penitent submitting to the rod. Before unrighteous Absalom, he could justify himself…