Second Book of Samuel 14

¹ Now Joab son of Zeruiah observed that the heart of the king was again turning to Absalom,

² so he sent to Tekoa[*a] for a quick-witted woman. ‘Pretend to be in mourning’ he said. ‘Put on mourning garments; do not anoint yourself with oil; act like a woman who has long been mourning for the dead.

³ Go then to the king and say this to him.’ And Joab put into her mouth the words she had to say.

⁴ So the woman of Tekoa went to the king and fell with her face to the ground and did homage. ‘Help, O king!’ she said.

⁵ The king said, ‘What is the matter?’ ‘Alas,’ she replied ‘I am a widow; my husband is dead.

⁶ Your servant had two sons and out in the fields, where there was no one to intervene, they quarrelled with each other. And one of them struck the other and killed him.

⁷ And now the whole clan has risen against your servant. “Give up the man who killed his brother” they say. “For the life of the brother he murdered we will have his death, and so destroy the heir too.” By this means they will put out what embers remain to me, and leave my husband neither name nor survivor on the face of the earth.’

⁸ The king then said to the woman, ‘Go to your house; I myself will give orders concerning your case’.

⁹ The woman of Tekoa said to the king, ‘My lord king! May the guilt be on me and on my family; the king and his throne are innocent of it.’

¹⁰ ‘Bring me the man who threatened you,’ the king replied ‘and he shall never hurt you again.’

¹¹ Then she said, ‘Let the king be pleased to pronounce the name of Yahweh his God, so that the avenger of blood may not do greater harm and destroy my son’. ‘As Yahweh lives,’ he said ‘not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.’

¹² Then the woman said, ‘Permit your servant to say something else to my lord the king.’ ‘Go on’ he said.

¹³ ‘Why then’ the woman said ‘has the king – who in making this decision convicts himself – so conspired against God’s people by not bringing back home the one he has banished?

¹⁴ We must all die; we are like water spilt on the ground that can never be gathered up again, nor does God raise up a corpse; let the king make plans then for the one who has been banished not to remain far away from him in exile.

¹⁵ ‘Now the reason why I have come to speak about this to my lord the king is because people have frightened me, and your servant thought, “I will speak to the king; perhaps the king will do what his servant asks.

¹⁶ For the king will consent to deliver his servant from the hands of the man who would cut us off, myself and my son with me, from God’s heritage.

¹⁷ May the word of my lord the king” your servant thought “set me at rest. For my lord the king is like the angel of God for discerning good and evil.” May Yahweh your God be with you!’

¹⁸ Answering her the king said, ‘Please do not evade the question I am about to ask you’. The woman said, ‘Let my lord the king ask his question’.

¹⁹ ‘Is not the hand of Joab behind you in all this?’ the king asked. The woman replied, ‘As surely as you live, my lord king, I cannot get away from the things which my lord the king has said. Yes, it was your servant Joab who asked me to do this; he put all these words into your servant’s mouth.

²⁰ Your servant Joab acted in this way to disguise the matter, but my lord has the wisdom of the angel of God; he knows all that takes place on earth.’

²¹ The king then said to Joab, ‘Very well, the suit is granted. Go and bring the young man Absalom back.’

²² Joab fell with his face to the ground, did homage and blessed the king. ‘My lord king,’ Joab said ‘your servant knows now that he has won your favour, since the king has done what his servant asked.’

²³ Joab then set off and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.

²⁴ The king, however, said, ‘Let him retire to his own house; he is not to appear in my presence’. So Absalom retired to his own house and was not received by the king.

²⁵ In the whole of Israel there was no man who could be praised for his beauty as much as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was not a blemish on him.

²⁶ When he cut the hair of his head-and he would cut it every year; he would cut it then because it grew too heavy for him-he would weigh the hair; two hundred shekels, king’s weight.

²⁷ To Absalom were born three sons and one daughter called Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without being received by the king.

²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. He sent for him a second time, but Joab would not come.

³⁰ So he said to his servants, ‘Look, Joab’s field is next to mine and he has barley in it; go and set fire to it’. Absalom’s servants set fire to the field.

³¹ At this, Joab went off to Absalom at his house. ‘Why’ he asked him ‘have your servants set fire to the field belonging to me?’

³² Absalom answered Joab, ‘Look now, I sent word to you to say I wanted you to go to the king with this message, “Why did I come back from Geshur? Better for me to be there still. Now I wish to be received by the king, and if I am guilty, let him put me to death.” ‘

³³ Joab went to the king and told him this. He then summoned Absalom who went to the king and bowed low before him, throwing himself on his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.