2 Samuel 14

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

Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart desired to see Absalom.

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,

So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought to him. He said to her, “Please pretend you are a mourner and put on mourning clothes. Please do not anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has mourned a long time 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.

Then go to the king and speak to him about what I will describe.” So Joab told her the words she was to say to the king.

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.”

When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she lay facedown on the ground and said, “Help me, 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,

The king said to her, “What is wrong?” She answered, “The truth is that I am a widow, and 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;

I, your servant, had two sons, and they fought together in the field, and there was no one to separate them. One struck the other and killed 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.”

Now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, 'Give into our hand the man who struck his brother, so that we may put him to death, to pay for the life of his brother whom he killed.' So they would also destroy the heir. Thus they will put out the burning coal that I have left, and they will leave for my husband neither name nor descendant on the surface of the earth.”

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

So the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will command something to be done for you.”

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.”

The woman of Tekoa replied to the king, “My master, king, may the guilt be on me and on my father's family. The king and his throne are 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.”

The king replied, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore.”

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 she said, “Please, may the king call to mind Yahweh your God, so that the avenger of blood will not destroy anyone further, so that they will not destroy my son.” The king replied, “As Yahweh lives, not one hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

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

Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a further word to my master the king.” 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;

So the woman said, “Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of God? For in saying this thing, the king is like someone who is guilty, because the king has not brought back home again his banished son.

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 all must die, and we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life; instead, he finds a way for those who were driven away to be restored.

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,

Now then, seeing that I have come to speak this thing to my master the king, it is because the people have made me afraid. So your servant said to herself, 'I will now speak to the king. It may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

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,

Perhaps the king will listen to me and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together, out of the inheritance God gave us.'

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.”

Then your servant prayed, 'Yahweh, please let the word of my master the king give me relief, for as an angel of God, so is my master the king in telling good from evil.' May Yahweh your God be with you.”

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 the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me anything that I will ask you.” The woman replied, “Let my master the king now 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.

The king said, “Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As you live, my master the king, no one can escape to the right hand or to the left from anything that my master the king has spoken. It was your servant Joab who commanded me and told me to say these things that your servant has spoken.

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.”

Your servant Joab has done this to change the course of what is happening. My master is wise, like the wisdom of an angel of God, and he knows everything that is happening in the land.”

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

So the king said to Joab, “Look now, I will do this thing. Go then, and bring the young man Absalom back.”

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.”

So Joab lay facedown on the ground in honor and gratitude to the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my master, king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant.”

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

So Joab arose, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back 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.

The king said, “He may return to his own house, but he may not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king's face.

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;

Now in all Israel there was no one praised for his handsomeness more than Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no blemish in 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.

When he cut the hair of his head at the end of every year, because it was heavy on him, he weighed his hair; it would weigh about two hundred shekels, which is measured by the weight of the king's standard.

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

To Absalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

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

Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without seeing the king's face.

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.

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

So Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom'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 Joab arose and came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field 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.”

Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent word to you saying, 'Come here so I may send you to the king to say, “Why did I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there. Now therefore let me see the king's face, and if I am guilty, let him kill me.”'”

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 him. When the king called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed low to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.