2S 14:1And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was set on Absalom.
2S 14:2So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. And he said to her, Pretend to be in mourning, and put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil; but be like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
2S 14:3And go to the king and speak with him in this way. And Joab put the words in her mouth.
2S 14:4And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid him homage and said, Help, O king!
2S 14:5And the king said to her, What troubles you? And she said, Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.
2S 14:6And your servant had two sons. And the two struggled with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them. So the one struck down the other and killed him.
2S 14:7And now the whole family has risen up against your servant, and they say, Give over that one who struck down his brother that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he has slain, even if we destroy the heir also. Thus they will quench my coal which is left without leaving to my husband a name or a remainder on the face of the earth.
2S 14:8Then the king said to the woman, Go to your house, and I will issue a command concerning you.
2S 14:9And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, O my lord the king, the iniquity be upon me and upon the house of my father, and the king and his throne be guiltless.
2S 14:10And the king said, If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.
2S 14:11And she said, May the king remember Jehovah your God, so that the avenger of blood may kill no more and they destroy not my son. And he said, As Jehovah lives, not a hair from your son shall fall to the ground.
2S 14:12Then the woman said, Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.
2S 14:13And the woman said, Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word, the king is like one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.
2S 14:14For we must die and are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered again. Yet God does not take away life, but devises ways that the banished one would not be cast out from Him.
2S 14:15Now therefore that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people made me afraid; and your servant said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform his servant’s request.
2S 14:16For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
2S 14:17Then your servant said, Let the word of my lord the king be a comfort to me, for as an angel of God is, so is my lord the king in discerning good and evil; and may Jehovah your God be with you.
2S 14:18And the king answered and said to the woman, Do not hide the matter from me which I will ask of you. And the woman said, Let my lord the king speak.
2S 14:19And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman answered and said, As your soul lives, O my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or left of anything that my lord the king has said; for your servant Joab commanded me, and it is he who has put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
2S 14:20In order to change the appearance of the matter, your servant Joab did this thing; and my lord is wise, as wise as an angel of God, knowing all that there is in the land.
2S 14:21Then the king said to Joab, I will now do this thing; go therefore, and bring the young man Absalom back.
2S 14:22And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king; and Joab said, Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, O my lord the king, in that the king has granted his servant’s request.
2S 14:23Then Joab rose up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
2S 14:24And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom turned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.
2S 14:25Now there was none in all Israel to be praised more greatly for his beauty than Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
2S 14:26And when he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of each year that he cut it, for it became heavy on him and he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, according to the king’s weight.
2S 14:27And to Absalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
2S 14:28And Absalom dwelt in Jerusalem for two full years and did not see the king’s face.
2S 14:29Then Absalom sent for Joab so that he might send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And he sent for him yet a second time, but he would not come.
2S 14:30Then he said to his servants, See, Joab’s portion of land is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire. So Absalom’s servants set the portion of land on fire.
2S 14:31And Joab rose up and came to Absalom at his house; and he said to him, Why did your servants set my portion of land on fire?
2S 14:32And Absalom said to Joab, I sent for you, saying, Come now that I may send you to the king to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It would have been better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there is any iniquity in me, let him put me to death.
2S 14:33So Joab went to the king and spoke to him, and he called for Absalom. And he came to the king and bowed himself with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.
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