2 Samuel 14

1 And when now Joab the son of Zeruyah perceived that the heart of the king was [turned] toward Abshalom:

Joab realized that the king yearned [IDM] to see Absalom.

2 Then sent Joab to Tekoa', and he fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, Feign. I pray thee, as though thou mournest, and do put on mourning garments, and anoint thyself not with oil; but be as a woman that hath these many days been mourning for the dead.

So Joab sent someone to Tekoa [town] to bring back a woman who was very clever. [When she arrived, ] Joab said to her, “Pretend that you are grieving because someone has died. Put on clothes that show that you are mourning. Do not put any lotion/ointment on your body. Act as if you are a woman who has been mourning for a long time.

3 And thou must come to the king and speak with him after these words: and Joab put the words into her mouth.

And go to the king, and tell him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say [MTY] [to the king].

4 And the woman from Tekoa' spoke to the king, and fell on her face to the ground, and bowed herself, and said, Help, O king!

So the woman from Tekoa went to the king. She prostrated herself in front of him and then bowed down to him, and said, “Your Majesty, help me!”

5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she said, Truly, I am a widow-woman; since my husband is dead.

The king replied, “What is your problem?” She replied, “Please, sir, I am a widow. My husband died [some time ago].

6 And thy hand-maid had two sons, and they two quarreled together in the field, and there was no one between them to help [either]; so the one smote the other, and slew him.

I had two sons. But one day they quarreled with each other out in the fields. There was no one to separate them, and one of them struck the other one and killed him.

7 And, behold, the whole family is risen up against thy handmaid, and they said, Give up the slayer of his brother, that we may have him put to death, for the life of his brother whom he hath killed; and we will destroy also the heir: and thus they will quench my coal which is remaining, so as not to allow to my husband either name or remainder upon the face of the earth.

Now, all my family oppose me. They are insisting that I allow them to kill my son who is still alive [MTY], in order that they may get revenge for his killing his brother. But if they do that, I will not have any son to inherit [my husband’s possessions]. That would be like [MET] extinguishing the last coals of a fire, and my husband would not have a son to preserve our family’s name. [DOU]”

8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will issue [my] charge concerning thee.

Then the king said to the woman, “Go back home; I will take care of this matter for you.”

9 Then said the woman of Tekoa unto the king, On me, my Lord, O king, be the iniquity, and on my father's house: and may the king and his throne be guiltless.

The woman from Tekoa replied to the king, “Your Majesty, if you are criticized [for helping me], my family and I will accept the blame. You and the royal family will (be innocent/not have done what is wrong).”

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

The king said to her, “If anyone says anything [to threaten you/cause you trouble] you, bring that person to me, and [I will make sure that] he will never cause you trouble again.”

11 Then said she, Let the king, I pray thee, remember the Lord thy God, so as not to suffer the avenger of the blood to cause yet more destruction, and that they may not destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not fall one hair of thy son to the earth.

Then the woman said, “Your Majesty, please pray that Yahweh your God will not allow my relative, who [wants to get] revenge on my son for killing [MTY] his brother, to be able to do that.” David replied, “As surely as Yahweh lives, your son will not be harmed at all. [IDM]”

12 Then said the woman, Let thy hand-maid, I pray thee, speak unto my Lord the king one word. And he said, Speak on.

Then the woman said, “Your Majesty, please allow me to say one more thing to you.” He replied, “Speak!”

13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? and since the king doth speak this thing, he is as a guilty man, if the king do not permit his banished one to return home.

The woman said, “Why have you done this bad thing to God’s people? You have not allowed your son Absalom to return home. By saying what you have just said, you have certainly declared [RHQ] that what you have done is wrong.

14 For we must needs die, and are as water which is spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and yet doth God not take away life; and he deviseth thoughts, so that the banished one may not remain banished from him.

We all die; we are like [SIM] water that cannot be picked up after it is spilled on the ground. But God does not just cause us to die; he creates ways to bring us back when we become separated from him.

15 And now that I am come to speak unto my Lord the king of this thing, [happened] because the people made me afraid; and therefore thy hand-maid said, I will still speak unto the king; perhaps the king may act [in accordance with] the word of his hand-maid.

“Now, Your Majesty, I have come to you because others have threatened me. So I said to myself, ‘I will go and talk to the king, and perhaps he will do what I request him to do.

16 For the king may hear [me], to deliver his hand-maid out of the hand of the man [that desireth] to exterminate me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

Perhaps he will listen to me, and save me from the man who is trying to kill my son. If my son is killed, it would result in us disappearing from the land that God gave to us.’

17 And thy hand-maid said, May the word of my Lord the king now become [the means of giving] repose; for as an angel of God, so is my Lord the king to comprehend the good and the bad: and may the Lord thy God be with thee.

“And I thought, ‘What the king says will comfort/encourage me, because the king is like [SIM] an angel of God. He knows what is good and what is evil.’ I pray/desire that Yahweh our God will (be with/direct) you.”

18 Then answered the king and said unto the woman, Conceal not, I pray thee, from me a word concerning what I am going to ask thee. And the woman said, Let my Lord the king but speak.

Then the king said to the woman, “I will now ask you a question. Answer it, and tell me the truth. [LIT]” The woman replied, “Your majesty, ask your question.”

19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my Lord, O king! none can turn to the right or to the left from all that my Lord the king hath spoken; for it was thy servant Joab who hath bidden me, and it was he that hath put in the mouth of thy hand-maid all these words.

The king said, “Was Joab the one who told you to do this?” She replied, “Yes, Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I cannot avoid telling you what is true. Yes, indeed, it was Joab who told me to come here, and who told me what to say.

20 In order to change the appearance 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 that is [done] on the earth.

He did it in order to cause you to think differently about this matter. Your Majesty, you are as wise as God’s angels, and [it seems that] you know everything [that happens] on the earth, [so you know why Joab sent me here].”

21 And the king said unto Joab, Behold, now, thou hast done this thing: go then, bring back the young man Abshalom.

Then the king [summoned] Joab [and] said to him, “Listen! I have decided to do [what you want]. So go and get that young man Absalom and bring him back [to Jerusalem].”

22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself, and blessed the king: and Joab said, Today is thy servant convinced that I have found grace in thy eyes, my Lord, O king; since the king hath acted in accordance with the word of thy servant.

Joab prostrated himself on the ground, and then he bowed down before the king, and [asked God to] bless him. Then Joab said, “Your Majesty, today I know that you are pleased with me, because you have agreed to do what I requested.”

23 And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Abshalom to Jerusalem.

Then Joab got up and went to Geshur, and got Absalom and brought him back to Jerusalem.

24 And the king said, Let him repair to his own house, but my face he shall not see. So Abshalom repaired to his own house, but the king's face he did not see.

But the king said/commanded that Absalom would not be permitted to live in the palace. He said, “I do not want him to come to see me.” So Absalom lived in his own house, and did not go to [talk to] the king.

25 And like Abshalom there was no man as handsome in all Israel, so that he was greatly praised: from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head there was no blemish on him.

Absalom was very handsome. He looked perfect, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. In all of Israel there was no one whom people admired more than Absalom.

26 And when he shaved off [the hair of] his head [and it was at the end of every year that he shaved it off; because it was too heavy on him, so that he had to shave it off: ] he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

His hair was very thick, and he cut it only once each year, when it became too heavy for him. Using the standard weights, he would weigh the hair [that he cut off], and it always weighed about five pounds.

27 And there was born unto Abshalom three sons and one daughter, whose name was Thamar: this one was a woman of handsome appearance.

Absalom had three sons and one daughter named Tamar. She was a very beautiful woman.

28 And Abshalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and the king's face he did not see.

[After] Absalom [returned to] Jerusalem, he lived there two years, and during that time he never [was allowed to] see the king.

29 Abshalom sent out therefore for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again the second time; but he would not come.

So he sent [a messenger] to Joab to ask him to come [and talk to him], but Joab refused to come. So Absalom sent [a message to him] a second time, but he still would not come.

30 He thereupon said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is alongside of mine, and he hath barley there: go and set it on fire. And Abshalom's servants set the field on fire.

Then Absalom said to his servants, “You know that Joab’s field is next to mine, and that he has barley [growing] there. Go and light a fire there [to burn his barley].” So Absalom’s servants [went there and] lit a fire, [and all his barley burned].

31 Then did Joab arise, and he went to Abshalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set the field belonging to me on fire?

Joab [knew who had done it, so he] went to Absalom’s house and said to him, “Why have your servants burned [the barley in] my field?”

32 And Abshalom said to Joab, Behold, I had sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it would be better for me were I yet there: and now let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him put me to death.

Absalom replied, “Because [you did not come to me when] I sent messages to you [requesting that you come]. I wanted to request that you go to the king to say to him, ‘Absalom (wants to know what good it did/says that is was useless) [RHQ] for him [RHQ] to leave Geshur and come here. [He thinks that] it would have been better for him to have stayed there. [He wants you to] allow him to talk to you. And if you think that he has done something that is wrong, you can [command that] he be executed.’”

33 So Joab went to the king, and told it to him: and he called for Abshalom, who came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Abshalom.

So Joab went to the king, and told him [what Absalom had said]. Then the king [summoned Absalom], and he came to the king and knelt down in front of him with his face touching the ground. Then the king kissed Absalom [to show that he was pleased to see him].