2 Samuel 14

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

And Joab the son of Saruia knew that the heart of the king was toward Abessalom.

2 So 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.

And Joab sent to Thecoe, and took thence a cunning woman, and said to her, Mourn, I pray thee, and put on mourning apparel, and anoint thee not with oil, and thou shalt be as a woman mourning for one that is dead thus for many days.

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

And thou shalt go to the king, and speak to him according to this word. And Joab put the words in her mouth.

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

So the woman of Thecoe went in to the king and fell upon her face to the earth, and did him obeisance, and said, Help, O king, help.

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

And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.

6 And 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.

And moreover thy handmaid had two sons, and they fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them; and the one smote the other his brother, and slew him.

7 Now 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.”

And behold the whole family rose up against thine handmaid, and they said, Give up the one that smote his brother, and we will put him to death for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and we will take away even your heir: so they will quench my coal that is left, so as not to leave my husband remnant or name on the face of the earth.

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

And the king said to the woman, Go in peace to thy house, and I will give commandment concerning thee.

9 But 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.”

And the woman of Thecoe said to the king, On me, my lord, O king, and on my father's house [be] the iniquity, and 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!”

And the king said, Who was it that spoke to thee? thou shalt even bring him to me, and [one] shall not touch him any more.

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.”

And she said, Let now the king remember concerning his Lord God in that the avenger of blood is multiplied to destroy, and let them not take away my son. And he said, [As] the lord lives, not a hair of thy son shall fall to the ground.

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

And the woman said, Let now thy servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

13 The 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?

And the woman said, Why hast thou devised this thing against the people of God? or [is] this word out of the king's mouth as a transgression, so that the king should not bring back his banished?

14 For 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.

For we shall surely die, and be as water poured upon the earth, which shall not be gathered up, and God shall take the life, even as he devises to thrust forth from him his outcast.

15 Now 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.

And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord the king, [the reason is] that the people will see me, and thy handmaid will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the king will perform the request of his handmaid;

16 For 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.’

for the king will hear. Let him rescue his handmaid out of the hand of the man that seeks to cast out me and my son from the inheritance of God.

17 And 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.’”

And the woman said, If now the word of my lord the king be gracious, —[well]: for as an angel of God, so [is] my lord the king, to hear good and evil: and the Lord thy God shall be with thee.

18 Then 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.

And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the matter which I ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king by all means speak.

19 So 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.

And the king said, [Is] not the hand of Joab in all this matter with thee? and the woman said to the king, [As] thy soul lives, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab himself charged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid.

20 Joab 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.”

In order that this form of speech might come about [it was] that thy servant Joab has framed this matter: and my lord is wise as [is] the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

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

And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done to thee according to this thy word: go, bring back the young man Abessalom.

22 Joab 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.”

And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and did obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, for my lord the king has performed the request of his servant.

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

And Joab arose, and went to Gedsur, and brought Abessalom to Jerusalem.

24 But 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.

And the king said, Let him return to his house, and not see my face. And Abessalom returned to his house, and saw not the king's face.

25 Now 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.

And there was not a man in Israel so very comely as Abessalom: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

26 And 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.

And when he polled his head, (and it was at the beginning of every year that he polled it, because it grew, heavy upon him, ) even when he polled it, he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels according to the royal shekel.

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

And there were born to Abessalom three sons and one daughter, and her name was Themar: she was a very beautiful woman, and she becomes the wife of Roboam son of Solomon, and she bears to him Abia.

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

And Abessalom remained in Jerusalem two full years, and he saw not the king's face.

29 Then 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.

And Abessalom sent to Joab to bring him in to the king, and he would not come to him: and he sent to him the second time, and he would not come.

30 Then 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.

And Abessalom said to his servants, Behold, Joab's portion in the field [is] next to mine, and he has in it barley; go and set it on fire. And the servants of Abessalom set the field on fire: and the servants of Joab come to him with their clothes rent, and they said to him, The servants of Abessalom have set the field on fire.

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

And Joab arose, and came to Abessalom into the house, and said to him, Why have thy 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.”

And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Why did I come out of Gedsur? it would have been better for me to have remained there: and now, behold, I have not seen the face of the king; but if there is iniquity in me, then put me to death.

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

And Joab went in to the king, and brought him word: and he called Abessalom, and he went in to the king, and did him obeisance, and fell upon his face to the ground, even in the presence of the king; and the king kissed Abessalom.