II Samuel 14

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.

²And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead:

³and go in to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

⁵And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and my husband is dead.

⁶And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.

⁷And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and so destroy the heir also. Thus will they quench my coal which is left, and will leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.

⁸And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

⁹And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

¹⁰And the king said, Whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

¹¹Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

¹²Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

¹³And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou devised such a thing against the people of God? for in speaking this word the king is as one that is guilty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished one.

¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.

¹⁵Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

¹⁶For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

¹⁷Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.

¹⁸Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

¹⁹And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid;

²⁰to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

²¹And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom back.

²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and did obeisance, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knoweth that I have found favor in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath performed the request of his servant.

²³So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom turned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.

²⁵Now in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

²⁶And when he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year’s end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king’s weight.

²⁷And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.

²⁸And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem; and he saw not the king’s face.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.

³⁰Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?

³²And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.

³³So Joab came to the king, and told him; and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.

II Samuel 14

¹Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart longed for Absalom.

²So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

³Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!”

⁵“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

⁶And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.”

⁸“Go home,” the king said to the woman, “and I will give orders on your behalf.”

⁹But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”

¹⁰“If anyone speaks to you,” said the king, “bring him to me, and he will not trouble you again!”

¹¹“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

¹³The woman asked, “Why have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, since he has not brought back his own banished son?

¹⁴For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

¹⁵Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

¹⁶For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’

¹⁷And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”

¹⁸Then the king said to the woman, “I am going to ask you something; do not conceal it from me!” “Let my lord the king speak,” she replied.

¹⁹So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.

²⁰Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “I hereby grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab fell facedown in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” said Joab, “your servant knows that he has found favor with you, my lord the king, because the king has granted his request.”

²³So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴But the king added, “He may return to his house, but he must not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the king.

²⁵Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

²⁶And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard.

²⁷Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Now Absalom lived in Jerusalem two years without seeing the face of the king.

²⁹Then he sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So Absalom sent a second time, but Joab still would not come.

³⁰Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

³²“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

³³So Joab went and told the king, and David summoned Absalom, who came to him and bowed facedown before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.