2 Samuel 14

1 When Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart longed for Absalom,

Joab, son of Zeruiah, knew that the king kept on thinking about Absalom.

2 he sent to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, "Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave as a woman who has been mourning for the dead a long time.

So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa to bring back a wise woman who lived there. He told her, “Pretend to be a mourner. Put on clothes for mourning, and don't use any scented oils. Be like a woman who has been in mourning for the dead a long time.

3 Go in to the king and say this to him." Then Joab told her what to say.

Then go to the king and tell him this.” Joab told her what to say.

4 And the woman of Tekoa went to the king, and she bowed down with her face to the ground and showed respect, and said, "Help, O king."

When the woman from Tekoa went to see the king, she bowed facedown to the ground in respect, and said, “Please help me, Your Majesty!”

5 And the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" And she replied, "Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.

“What's the matter?” the king asked her. “Sadly I'm a widow. My husband is dead,” she replied.

6 And your servant had two sons, and they both fought together in the field, and there was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

“Your Majesty, I had two sons. They had a fight outside, and there was nobody there to stop them. One of them hit the other, and killed him.

7 Look, the whole family has risen against your servant, and they say, 'Give us the man who struck his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed.' Thus they would eliminate also the heir and the one ember I have left will be extinguished, and would leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.

Now the whole family is against me. They're saying, ‘Hand over your son who killed his brother so we can put him to death for murdering his brother. That way he won't inherit anything either!’ By doing this they would snuff out the last ember of hope I have to carry on my husband's name and family in the world.”

8 Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word to the king, my lord, it is because the people have made me afraid: and your servant said, 'I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.'

“Go on home,” the king told the woman, “and I myself will make sure your case is dealt with for you.”

9 For the king will hear and deliver his servant out of the hand of the man who is seeking to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of YHWH.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said the woman. “I and my family will take the blame, and may Your Majesty and your family be held to be innocent.”

10 Then your servant said, 'Please let the word of my lord the king bring rest; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad. May YHWH, your God, be with you.'"

“If anyone complains to you about it, bring him here to me, and he won't bother you again!” the king told her.

11 Then the king said, "Go to your house, and I will give a command concerning you."

“Please, Your Majesty,” the woman continued, “swear by the Lord your God that you will stop the person wanting to avenge the murder from making it worse by killing my son!” “As the Lord lives,” he promised, “not a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground.”

12 The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless."

“Could I please ask for one other thing, Your Majesty?” the woman asked. “Go ahead,” he replied.

13 The king said, "Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you any more."

“So why have you schemed in a similar way against the people of God?” the woman asked. “Since Your Majesty just decided my case by what you said, haven't you convicted yourself because you refuse to bring back the son you banished?

14 Then she said, "Please let the king remember YHWH your God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son." He said, "As YHWH lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground."

Yes, we all have to die. We're like water spilled on the ground that can't be collected again. But that's not what God does. Instead he works out ways for anyone who is banished to come back home to him.

15 Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." He said, "Say on."

That's why I've come to explain this to Your Majesty, because someone has frightened me. So I thought to myself, I will go and speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant my request.

16 The woman said, "Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of YHWH? For in speaking this word the king is as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring home again his exiled one.

Perhaps the king will listen and save me from the man who would cut off both me and my son from God's chosen people.

17 For your son is dead, and as water spilled on the ground can't be gathered up again, so he can't bring his life back again. But it seems sensible to the king to keep his exiled one away from him."

I thought: May what Your Majesty says bring me peace, for Your Majesty is able to tell the difference between good and evil, just like an angel of God. May the Lord your God be with you!”

18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."

“Please don't refuse to answer the question I'm about to ask,” the king said to the woman. “Please ask your question, Your Majesty,” she replied.

19 So the king said, "Did Joab put you up to all this?" The woman answered, "As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who had me do this, and he put all these words in the mouth of your servant.

“Is all this Joab's doing?” the king asked. The woman replied, “As you live, Your Majesty, no one can hide anything from you. Yes, it was Joab, your officer, who ordered me to do this—he told me exactly what to say.

20 Your servant Joab did this in order to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of an angel of God for knowing things in the land."

He did so to show the other side of the situation, but Your Majesty is as wise as an angel of God, and you know everything that happens in this country.”

21 Then the king said to Joab, "Look now, I have done according to your word. Go, bring back the young man Absalom."

The king said to Joab, “Fine, I'll do it. Go and bring young Absalom back.”

22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground, and blessed the king. And Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant."

Joab bowed down with his face to the ground in respect, and blessed the king. “Today,” said Joab, “I, your servant, know that you approve of me, Your Majesty, because you have granted my request.”

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

Joab went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.

24 The king said, "He must return to his own house, but he must not see my face." So Absalom returned to his own house, and did not see the king's face.

But the king gave this order, “He may return to his home, but he's not to come and see me.” So Absalom returned to his own home, but he didn't go and see the king.

25 Moreover, Absalom – in Israel no one was so much admired as he for his fine appearance. From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

Absalom was admired as the most handsome man in the whole of Israel. He didn't have a single blemish from head to toe.

26 When he cut the hair of his head – now it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it became too heavy, therefore he cut it – he weighed the hair of his head at one hundred shekels by the king's weight.

He cut his hair every year because it got so heavy—it weighed two hundred royal shekels.

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

He had three sons, and a daughter named Tamar—a very beautiful woman.

28 Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem; and he did not see the king's face.

Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years but was not permitted to see the king.

29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.

Absalom called Joab to arrange for him to see the king, for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come. Absalom called Joab again, but Joab still wouldn't come.

30 Therefore he said to his servants, "Look, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire." Absalom's servants set the field on fire. And the servants of Joab came to him with their clothes rent, and they said to him, "The servants of Absalom have set the field on fire."

So Absalom told his servants, “Look, Joab's field is next to mine, and he has barley growing there. Go and set it on fire!” Absalom's servants went and set the field on fire.

31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to his house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?"

Joab went to Absalom's house and asked “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

32 And Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent to you, saying, 'Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there. Now therefore let me appear before the king. If I am guilty, put me to death.'"

“Look here,” said Absalom, “I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here. I want you to go to the king and ask: Why did I bother coming back from Geshur? It would have been better for me to stay there.’ So go and arrange for me to see the king, and if I'm guilty of anything, he can kill me.”

33 So Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. And he came to the king and bowed himself with his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

So Joab went and told the king what Absalom had said. Then David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed down with his face to the ground before him in respect. Then the king kissed Absalom.