2 Samuel 14

1 And Joab son of Zeruial knows that the heart of the king [is] on Absalom,

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

2 and Joab sends to Tekoah, and takes a wise woman from there, and says to her, “Please feign yourself a mourner, and now put on garments of mourning, and do not anoint yourself with oil, and you have been as a woman mourning for the dead [for] these many days,

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.

3 and you have gone to the king, and spoken to him, according to this word”; and Joab puts the words into her mouth.

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

4 And the woman of Tekoah speaks to the king, and falls on her face to the earth, and pays respect, and says, “Save, O king.”

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!

5 And the king says to her, “What do you [want]?” And she says, “I [am] truly a widow woman, and my husband dies,

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

6 and your maidservant has two sons; and both of them strive in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and one strikes the other, and puts him to death;

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.

7 and behold, the whole family has risen against your maidservant, and say, Give up him who strikes his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he has slain, and we also destroy the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left—so as not to set a name and remnant on the face of the ground for my husband.”

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.

8 And the king says to the woman, “Go to your house, and I give charge concerning you.”

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

9 And the woman of Tekoah says to the king, “On me, my lord, O king, [is] the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne [are] innocent.”

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.

10 And the king says, “He who speaks to you, and you have brought him to me, then he does not add to come against you anymore.”

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

11 And she says, “Please let the king remember by your God YHWH, that the redeemer of blood does not add to destroy, and they do not destroy my son”; and he says, “YHWH lives; if there falls [even one] hair of your son to the earth.”

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.

12 And the woman says, “Please let your maidservant speak a word to my lord the king”; and he says, “Speak.”

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

13 And the woman says, “And why have you thought thus concerning the people of God? Indeed, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king has not brought back his outcast;

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.

14 for we surely die, and [are] as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God does not accept a person, and has devised plans in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.

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.

15 And now that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and your maidservant says, Please let me speak to the king; it may be the king does the word of his handmaid,

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.

16 for the king listens to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man [seeking] to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God,

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.

17 and your maidservant says, Please let the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so [is] my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and your God YHWH is with you.”

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.

18 And the king answers and says to the woman, “Please do not hide from me the thing that I am asking you”; and the woman says, “Please let my lord the king speak.”

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.

19 And the king says, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answers and says, “Your soul lives, my lord, O king, none [turn] to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.

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.

20 Your servant Joab has done this thing in order to bring around the appearance of the thing, and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that [is] in the land.”

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.

21 And the king says to Joab, “Now behold, you have done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

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

22 And Joab falls on his face to the earth, and pays respect, and blesses the king, and Joab says, “Today your servant has known that I have found grace in your eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king has done the word of his servant.”

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.

23 And Joab rises and goes to Geshur, and brings in Absalom to Jerusalem,

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

24 and the king says, “Let him turn around to his house, and he does not see my face.” And Absalom turns around to his house, and he has not seen the face of the king.

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.

25 And there was no man [so] beautiful in all Israel like Absalom, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even to his crown there was no blemish in him;

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.

26 and in his shaving his head—and it has been at the end of year by year that he shaves [it], for it [is] heavy on him, and he has shaved it—he has even weighed out the hair of his head—two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.

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.

27 And there are born to Absalom three sons and one daughter, and her name [is] Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.

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

28 And Absalom dwells in Jerusalem [for] two years of days, and he has not seen the face of the king;

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

29 and Absalom sends to Joab, to send him to the king, and he has not been willing to come to him; and he sends again a second time, and he has not been willing to come.

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.

30 And he says to his servants, “See, the portion of Joab [is] by the side of mine, and he has barley there; go and burn it with fire”; and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.

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.

31 And Joab rises and comes to Absalom in the house, and says to him, “Why have your servants burned the portion that I have with fire?”

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?

32 And Absalom says to Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here, and I send you to the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? [It was] good for me while I [was] there—and now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me then you have put me to death.”

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.

33 And Joab comes to the king, and declares [it] to him, and he calls to Absalom, and he comes to the king, and bows himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king gives a kiss to Absalom.

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.