2 Samuel 14

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

And Joab the son of Sarvia, understanding that the king’s heart was turned to Absalom,

2 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.

Sent to Thecua, and fetched from thence a wise woman: and said to her: Feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, and be not anointed with oil, that thou mayest be as a woman that had a long time been mourning for one dead.

3 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].

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

4 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!”

And when the woman of Thecua was come in to the king, she fell before him upon the ground, and worshipped, and said: Save me, O king.

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

And the king said to her: What is the matter with thee? She answered: Alas, I am a widow woman: for my husband is dead.

6 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.

And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them: and the one struck the other, and slew him.

7 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]”

And behold the whole kindred rising against thy handmaid, saith: Deliver him that hath slain his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and that we may destroy the heir: and they seek to quench my spark which is left, and will leave my husband no name, nor remainder upon the earth.

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

And the king said to the woman: Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

9 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).”

And the woman of Thecua said to the king: Upon me, my lord, be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father: but may the king and his throne be guiltless.

10 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.”

And the king said: If any one shall say ought against thee, bring him to me, and be shall not touch thee any more.

11 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]”

And she said: Let the king remember the Lord his God, that the next of kin be not multiplied to take revenge, and that they may not kill my son. And he said: As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

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

Then the woman said: Let thy handmaid speak one word to my lord the king. And he said: Speak.

13 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.

And the woman said: Why hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God, and why hath the king spoken this word, to sin, and not bring home again his own exile?

14 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.

We all die, and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth: neither will God have a soul to perish, but recalleth, meaning that he that is cast off should not altogether perish.

15 “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.

Now therefore I am come, to speak this word to my lord the king before the people. And thy handmaid said: I will speak to the king, it maybe the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

16 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.’

And the king hath hearkened to me to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of all that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

17 “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.”

Then let thy handmaid say, that the word of the Lord the king be made as a sacrifice. For even as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, that he is neither moved with blessing nor cursing: wherefore the Lord thy God is also with thee.

18 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.”

And the king answering, said to the woman: Hide not from me the thing that I ask thee. And the woman said to him: Speak, my lord the king.

19 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.

And the king said: Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? The woman answered, and said: By the health of thy soul, my lord, O king, it is neither on the left hand, nor on the right, in all these things which my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy handmaid.

20 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].”

That I should come about with this form of speech, thy servant Joab, commanded this: but thou, my lord, O king, art wise, according to the wisdom of ail angel of God, to understand all things upon earth.

21 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].”

And the king said to Joab: Behold I am appeased and have granted thy request: Go therefore and fetch back the boy Absalom.

22 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.”

And Joab falling down to the ground upon his face, adored, and blessed the king: and Joab said: This day thy servant hath understood, that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king: for thou hast fulfilled the request of thy servant.

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

Then Joab arose and went to Gessur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

24 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.

But the king said: Let him return into his house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned into his house, and saw not the king’s face.

25 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.

But in all Israel there was not a man so comely, and so exceedingly beautiful as Absalom: from the sole of the foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

26 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.

And when he polled his hair (now he was polled once a year, because his hair was burdensome to him) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred sicles, according to the common weight.

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

And there were born to Absalom three sons: and one daughter, whose, name was Thamar, and she was very beautiful.

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

And Absalom dwelt two years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.

29 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.

He sent therefore to Joab, to send him to the king: but he would not come to him. And when he had sent the second time, and he would not come to him,

30 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].

He said to his servants: You know the field of Joab near my field, that hath a crop of barley: go now and set it on fire. So the servants of Absalom set the corn on fire. And Joab’s servants coming with their garments rent, said: The servants of Absalom have set part of the field on fire.

31 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?”

Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to his house, and said: Why have thy servants set my corn on fire?

32 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.’”

And Absalom answered Joab: I sent to thee beseeching thee to come to me, that I might send thee to the king, to say to him: Wherefore am I come from Gessur? it had been better for me to be there: I beseech thee therefore that I may see the face of the king: and if he be mindful of my iniquity, let him kill me.

33 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].

So Joab going in to the king, told him all: and Absalom was called for, and he went in to the king: and prostrated himself on the ground before him: and the king kissed Absalom.