Verse
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
WEB
World English Bible
Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s
heart longed
for
Absalom.
Now Joab the
son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's
heart was
toward
Absalom.
So
Joab sent to Tekoa to
bring
a wise woman from
there.
He
told
her, “
Please pretend
to
be
a mourner ;
put on clothes
for
mourning and do
not
anoint yourself with oil .
Act
like
a woman who has mourned for the dead a
long
time.
Joab sent to Tekoa ,
and
fetched
there
a wise woman ,
and
said
to
her, please act
like
a mourner ,
and
put on mourning clothing,
Please,
and don't
anoint yourself with oil ,
but
be
as
a woman who has a
long
time
mourned for the dead :
Then
go to the king and speak these
words
to him. ”
And
Joab put the words in her mouth.
and
go in
to the king ,
and speak on
this
manner
to him. So
Joab put the words in her mouth.
When the woman from
Tekoa went
to the king, she fell facedown
in
homage
and said, “
Help me
, O king !”
When the woman of
Tekoa spoke
to the king, she fell on
her
face
to
the
ground,
and did
obeisance,
and
said, Help, O king .
“What
troubles
you?”
the king asked
her .
“Indeed
, ”
she said
, “
I am a widow, for
my husband is dead.
The king said
to
her, What
ails
you?
She answered
, Of
a
truth
I am a widow, and
my husband is dead.
And
your maidservant
had two sons who
were
fighting
in the field with
no
one
to separate
them, and
one struck the other and killed him.
Your handmaid
had two sons ,
and
they
two
strove
together
in the field ,
and
there
was
none
to part
them, but
the
one struck the other ,
and killed him.
Now
the whole clan
has
risen up
against your maidservant
and said
, ‘Hand
over
the
one
who struck down
his brother, that we may put
him to
death
for the life of the
brother whom he killed .
Then
we
will
cut
off
the heir as
well!’
So
they would
extinguish
my one
remaining
ember
by
not
preserving
my husband’s
name or
posterity
on the earth. ”
Behold,
the whole family
is
risen against your handmaid,
and they
say
, Deliver
him
who struck his brother, that we may kill
him for the life of his
brother whom he killed ,
and
so
destroy
the heir also.
Thus
will
they quench
my coal
which
is
left,
and
will
leave
to
my husband
neither
name nor
remainder
on the surface
of
the
earth.
“Go
home,”
the king said to the woman, “
and I will give orders
on
your
behalf
. ”
The king said to the woman, Go
to
your
house,
and I will give charge
concerning
you
.
But
the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “
My lord the
king, may
any
blame
be on me and on my father’s
house ,
and may
the king and his throne be guiltless. ”
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.
“If
anyone
speaks
to
you,”
said
the king, “
bring him to me, and he will
not trouble
you again!”
The king said
, Whoever
says
anything
to
you,
bring him to me, and he shall
not touch
you any
more.
“Please,”
she replied
, “may
the king invoke
the
LORD
your God to
prevent
the avenger of blood from
increasing
the
devastation
, so
that
my son may
not
be
destroyed!”
“As
surely
as the
LORD
lives, ”
he
vowed,
“
not a
hair of your son’s
head
will
fall to the ground
. ”
Then
said
she, Please
let
the king remember
Yahweh
your God ,
that
the avenger of blood destroy
not
any
more
, lest
they
destroy
my son .
He
said,
As Yahweh
lives, there
shall
not one
hair of your son
fall to the earth
.
Then the woman said, “
Please ,
may
your servant
speak a word to my lord the king ?”
“Speak,”
he replied
.
Then the woman said, Please let
your handmaid
speak a word to my lord the king .
He said,
Say
on
.
The woman asked
, “
Why have you devised a thing like
this
against the people of God? When
the king says
this
, does he
not convict
himself,
since
he
has
not
brought
back
his own
banished son?
The woman said
, Why then
have you devised such
a thing against the people of God? for
in
speaking
this
word
the king is
as
one
who
is
guilty
, in
that
the
king
does not bring
home
again
his banished one.
For surely
we will
die and be
like
water poured
out
on the ground, which cannot
be recovered.
Yet
God
does not
take away a
life ;
but He
devises ways
that the
banished one
may
not be cast
out
from Him.
For we must
needs
die ,
and are
as
water split
on the ground, which can't
be gathered
up
again;
neither
does God
take away life ,
but devises means,
that he
who
is
banished not be an
outcast
from him.
Now therefore ,
I have come to present
this matter
to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid .
Your servant
thought
, ‘
I will speak to the king .
Perhaps
he
will grant
the request of his maidservant
.
Now therefore seeing
that
I have come to speak
this word
to my lord the king ,
it
is
because the people have made me afraid :
and
your handmaid
said
, I will now
speak to the king ;
it
may
be
that
the
king
will perform
the request of his servant
.
For the king will hear and
deliver his maidservant
from
the hand of the man who would cut
off
both
me and my son from
God’s
inheritance. ’
For the king will hear ,
to
deliver his servant
out
of
the hand of the man who would destroy
me and my son together
out
of
the
inheritance of
God
.
And
now
your servant
says
, ‘May
the word of my lord the king bring
me
rest,
for my lord the king is
able
to discern good and evil,
just
like
the
angel
of
God.
May
the
LORD
your God be with you. ’”
Then
your handmaid
said
, Please
let
the word of my lord the king be
comfortable;
for as
an
angel
of
God,
so
is
my lord the king to discern good and bad:
and
Yahweh
your God be with you.
Then the king said
to
the woman, “
I am
going
to
ask you something;
do
not
conceal
it
from
me!”
“
Let my lord the king speak ,”
she
replied
.
Then the king answered
the woman, Please
don't
hide
anything
from
me
that
I shall
ask you .
The
woman
said,
Let my lord the king now
speak.
So
the king asked
, “
Is the hand of Joab behind
all this? ”
The woman answered, “
As surely
as
you
live
, my lord the king, no
one
can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says.
Yes,
your servant Joab is
the
one
who
gave
me orders;
he told
your maidservant
exactly
what
to
say.
The king said
, Is the hand of Joab with
you
in
all this? The woman answered, As your
soul
lives
, my lord the king, none
can turn to the right hand
or to the left from anything that my lord the king has
spoken;
for
your servant Joab ,
he
bade
me ,
and
he put
all
these
words
in
the
mouth
of
your handmaid;
Joab
your servant has
done this to
bring
about
this
change
of
affairs,
but
my lord has
wisdom
like
the wisdom of the
angel of God, to know everything
that happens
in the land
. ”
to
change
the
face
of
the
matter
has
your servant Joab
done this thing:
and
my lord is
wise,
according
to
the wisdom of an
angel of God, to know all
things
that are
in the earth
.
Then
the king said to Joab, “
I hereby
grant
this request.
Go, bring back
the young man Absalom. ”
The king said to Joab, Behold
now,
I have
done
this thing:
go therefore
, bring the young man Absalom back
.
Joab fell facedown
in
homage
and blessed the king .
“Today,”
said
Joab, “
your servant knows that he
has
found favor with
you
, my lord the
king, because
the king has granted
his
request. ”
Joab fell to
the
ground
on
his
face,
and did
obeisance,
and
blessed the king :
and
Joab said
, Today
your servant knows that I
have
found favor in
your
sight
, my lord ,
king, in
that
the king has performed
the
request of
his
servant
.
So Joab got
up,
went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
So Joab arose
and
went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
But
the king added
, “He
may
return
to his house, but he
must
not see my face. ”
So Absalom returned
to his own house, but
he
did
not
see the king
.
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
didn't
see the king's
face
.
Now there
was
not
a
man
in all Israel as
handsome
and
highly
praised as Absalom .
From the sole of his foot to the top
of his head ,
he
did
not
have
a
single
flaw
.
Now in all Israel there
was
none
to
be
so
much
praised as Absalom for
his
beauty:
from the sole of his foot even
to the crown
of his head there
was
no
blemish
in
him
.
And
when he cut the hair of his head —he
shaved
it every year
because his
hair
got
so
heavy —
he would
weigh
it out
to
be
two hundred shekels, according
to
the royal
standard
.
When he cut the hair of his head (now
it was
at
every year's
end
that
he
cut
it;
because it
was
heavy on
him,
therefore
he cut
it );
he
weighed
the
hair
of
his
head
at
two hundred shekels, after
the king's
weight
.
Three
sons
were
born
to Absalom, and a
daughter named
Tamar
, who
was a beautiful
woman.
To Absalom there
were
born
three
sons
, and one
daughter, whose
name
was Tamar:
she
was
a woman of
a
beautiful
face
.
Now
Absalom lived in
Jerusalem
two years without
seeing
the face of
the
king
.
Absalom lived two full
years in
Jerusalem;
and
he
didn't
see
the king's
face.
Then he
sent for Joab to send him to the king ,
but Joab
refused
to
come to him .
So
Absalom
sent a second time, but Joab
still
would not come.
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.
Then
Absalom
said to his servants, “Look
, Joab’s
field is next
to
mine, and he has barley there .
Go and set it on fire !”
And
Absalom’s
servants set the field on fire.
Therefore
he
said to his servants, Behold
, 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.
Then Joab came to Absalom’s
house and demanded
, “
Why did
your servants set my field on fire? ”
Then Joab arose,
and
came to Absalom
to
his
house ,
and said
to
him
, Why have
your servants set my field on fire?
“Look,”
said
Absalom, “
I sent for
you and
said
, ‘
Come here .
I want
to
send you to the king to ask:
Why have
I come back
from Geshur? It would
be
better for me if
I
were
still
there. ’
So
now ,
let me see the king’s
face ,
and if there is
iniquity in me, let him kill me. ”
Absalom answered
Joab
, Behold,
I sent to
you, saying,
Come here ,
that
I may
send you to the king ,
to say,
Why am
I come from Geshur? it were
better for me to
be
there still
. Now therefore
let me see the king's
face ;
and if there be
iniquity in me, let him kill me.
So Joab went
and
told
the king, and David
summoned
Absalom, who
came to him
and bowed facedown
before him.
Then
the king kissed Absalom.
So Joab came
to
the king, and told
him;
and
when
he
had
called
for
Absalom, he
came to the
king,
and bowed himself
on
his
face
to
the
ground
before the king :
and
the
king
kissed Absalom.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible and World English Bible. Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC.; Public domain; “World English Bible” is a trademark of eBible.org..