2 Samuel 14

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the heart of the king {was} against Absalom.

And Joab sent {to} Tekoa, and he brought a wise woman from there. And he said to her, “Please mourn, and please put on clothes of mourning. And you shall not anoint {yourself} {with} oil, but you shall be like this woman mourning many days for one having died.

And you shall come to the king, and you shall speak to him according to this word.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. \*

So the Tekoite woman spoke to the king. And she fell on her nose to the ground, and she prostrated herself, and she said, “Save, O king!” \*

And the king said to her, “What {is} to you?” \* And she said, “Truly I {am} a woman, a widow, for my husband has died.

And to your maidservant {were} two sons. But the two of them fought in the field, and {there was} no deliverer between them. And the one struck him, the one, and he killed him. \*

And behold, all of the clan has arisen against your maidservant, and they have said, ‘Give the one having struck his brother, and we will kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and let us destroy the heir also.’ And they would quench my coal that remains, without leaving to my husband a name or remnant on the face of the ground.” \*

And the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I, I will command concerning you.” \*

And the Tekoite woman said to the king, “On me, my lord the king, {be} the iniquity, and on the house of my father, and {may} the king and his throne {be} innocent.” \*

And the king said, “The one speaking to you, then bring him to me, and he will not continue to touch you further.” \*

And she said, “May the king please remember God your God, from the increasing of the avenger of blood to destroy. Then they will not destroy my son.” \* And he said, “The life of God, if from the hair of your son should fall to the ground!” \*

And the woman said, “May your maidservant please speak a word to my lord the king.” \* And he said, “Speak.” \*

And the woman said, “Then why have you devised like this against the people of God? For from speaking this word, the king {is} like the guilty, in that the king has not brought back his banished one.

For dying, we will die, and like water spilled on the ground that is not gathered. But God does not take away life, but he devises devices so that the banished will not be banished from him. \*

And now that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, {it is} because the people have frightened me. And your maidservant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king. Perhaps the king will do the word of his female servant.

For the king will listen to deliver his female servant from the palm of the man {who is} to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.’ \*

Then your maidservant said, ‘Now the word of my lord the king will be for rest, because like an angel of God, so {is} my lord the king, to understand good and evil. And may God your God be with you!’” \*

And the king answered and said to the woman, “Now do not hide from me a thing that I am asking you.” \* And the woman said, “May my lord the king please speak.” \*

And the king said, “{Is} the hand of Joab with you in all of this?” \* And the woman answered and said, “The life of your soul, my lord the king, if there is turning to the right or turning to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab, he, he commanded me, and he, he put all of these words in the mouth of your maidservant.

In order to turn the face of the matter, your servant Joab did this thing. But my master {is} wise like the wisdom of an angel of God, to know everything that {is} in the land.” \*

And the king said to Joab, “Behold, I will now do this thing. So go, bring back the young man Absalom.” \*

And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and he prostrated himself, and he blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, that the king does the word of his servant.” \*

And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and he brought Absalom {to} Jerusalem.

Now the king had said, “He may return to his house, but my face he shall not see.” So Absalom returned to his house, but the face of the king he did not see. \*

Now {there} was not a handsome man like Absalom in all of Israel to praise greatly. From the sole of his foot and to his pate, no blemish was on him.

And when he shaved his head (and it was at the end of years to years that he would shave, because {it was} heavy on him, so he would shave it) and he weighed the hair of his head, 200 shekels by the stone of the king. \*

And to Absalom were born three sons and one daughter, and her name {was} Tamar. She was a woman beautiful of appearance. \*

And Absalom lived in Jerusalem two years, days, but the face of the king he did not see.

So Absalom sent to Joab to send him to the king, but he was not willing to come to him. So Absalom sent again a second time, but he was not willing to come. \*

So he said to his servants, “See, the property of Joab {is} to my hand, and barley {is} to him there. Go and burn it with fire.” So the servants of Absalom burned the property with fire. \*

And Joab arose, and he came to Absalom, to the house, and he said to him, “Why did your servants burn with fire the property that {is} to me?” \*

And Absalom said to Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, saying, “Why have I come from Geshur? {It would be} better for me {if} I {were} still there.”’ And now, let me see the face of the king, but if iniquity is in me, then let him kill me.” \*

So Joab came to the king, and he declared to him. And he called to Absalom, and he came to the king, and he prostrated himself to him on his nose to the ground to the face of the king. And the king kissed Absalom. \*