Verse
YLT
Young's Literal Translation
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
And
Joab son of Zeruial
knoweth
that the heart of
the
king
`is'
on
Absalom ,
Now
Joab son of Zeruiah
perceived
that the king’s
heart longed
for
Absalom .
and
Joab sendeth
to Tekoah,
and
taketh
thence
a wise woman ,
and
saith
unto
her, `Feign
thyself
a mourner ,
I
pray
thee,
and
put on ,
I
pray
thee,
garments
of
mourning ,
and anoint
not thyself
with oil ,
and
thou
hast
been
as
a woman these
many
days
mourning
for the dead ,
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.
and
thou
hast
gone
unto
the king ,
and spoken
unto
him,
according
to this
word;'
and Joab putteth
the words into
her mouth.
Then
go
to
the king and speak
these
words
to him.”
And Joab put
the words in
her mouth.
And
the woman of
Tekoah
speaketh
unto
the
king,
and
falleth
on
her
face
to the earth,
and
doth
obeisance
, and saith
, `Save
, O king .'
When
the woman from
Tekoa
went
to the king
, she
fell
facedown
in
homage
and said
, “Help
me
, O king !”
And
the king saith
to
her, `What
--
to
thee?'
and
she saith
, `Truly
a widow woman
`am'
I
, and
my husband dieth,
“What
troubles
you?”
the king asked
her .
“Indeed
, ”
she said
, “I
am
a widow, for
my husband is
dead.
and thy
maid-servant
hath
two sons ;
and
they
strive
both
of
them
in a
field ,
and
there
is
no deliverer
between
them, and the
one smiteth
the other ,
and putteth
him to
death;
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 .
and
lo,
the whole family
hath
risen against thy
maid-servant,
and say
, Give
up
him
who smiteth
his brother, and
we put him to death for the life of his
brother whom he hath
slain,
and
we destroy
also
the heir ;
and
they have
quenched
my coal
which
is
left
--
so
as
not to
set
to
my husband
a
name and
remnant
on the face
of
the
ground
. '
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
. ”
And
the king saith
unto
the woman, `Go
to
thine
house,
and I give charge
concerning
thee
. '
“Go
home,”
the king said
to
the woman, “
and I will
give orders
on
your
behalf
. ”
And
the woman of Tekoah
saith
unto
the king, `On
me,
my lord ,
O
king,
`is'
the iniquity
, and on the
house
of
my father;
and the king and his throne `are'
innocent
. '
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
. ”
And
the king saith
, `He
who
speaketh
`aught'
unto
thee,
and
thou
hast
brought
him unto
me, then
he doth
not add
any
more
to
come
against
thee.'
“If
anyone
speaks
to
you,”
said
the king, “bring
him to
me, and
he will
not trouble
you
again!”
And
she
saith,
`Let
, I
pray
thee
, the king remember
by
Jehovah
thy
God ,
that
the redeemer
of blood add
not
to
destroy
, and
they
destroy
not
my son ;'
and
he saith
, `Jehovah
liveth;
if
there
doth
fall
of
the
hair of thy
son
to the earth
. '
“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
. ”
And
the woman saith,
`Let
, I
pray
thee
, thy
maid-
servant speak unto
my lord the king a
word;'
and
he
saith,
`
Speak. '
Then
the woman said
, “Please
, may
your
servant speak a
word
to
my lord the king ?”
“
Speak ,”
he
replied
.
And
the woman saith
, `And
why hast
thou
thought
thus
concerning
the people of God? yea,
the king is
speaking
this thing
as
a
guilty
one
, in
that
the
king
hath
not brought back his outcast;
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?
for we
do
surely die ,
and `are'
as
water which
is
running
down
to
the earth
, which is
not
gathered,
and
God doth
not accept
a person,
and
hath
devised
devices
in
that the outcast
is
not outcast
by
Him.
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.
`And
now that
I have come to speak
unto
the
king
my lord this
word,
`it
is'
because the people made me afraid ,
and
thy
maid-
servant saith,
Let
me
speak
, I pray
thee,
unto
the
king;
it
may
be
the king doth
do
the word
of his handmaid,
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.
for the king doth
hearken
to
deliver his handmaid
out
of
the paw
of the man `seeking'
to
destroy
me and my son together
out
of
the
inheritance of
God,
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 .’
and thy
maid-
servant saith,
Let,
I
pray
thee
, the word of my lord the king be
for
ease;
for as
a
messenger
of
God
so
`is'
my lord the king ,
to understand
the
good and the
evil ;
and
Jehovah
thy
God is
with thee
. '
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
. ’”
And
the king answereth
and
saith
unto
the woman, `
Do not ,
I
pray
thee,
hide
from me the
thing
that
I
am
asking
thee;'
and
the
woman
saith,
`
Let ,
I
pray
thee,
my lord the king speak. '
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
.
And
the king saith
, `
Is the hand of Joab with
thee
in
all this? '
And
the woman answereth
and
saith
, `Thy
soul
liveth
, my lord ,
O
king, none
`doth
turn '
to the right or to the left from all
that my lord the king hath
spoken;
for
thy
servant Joab he
commanded
me,
and
he
put
in
the mouth
of
thy
maid-servant
all
these
words
;
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.
in
order
to
bring
round
the
appearance
of
the
thing
hath
thy
servant
Joab done this thing
, and
my lord `is'
wise,
according
to
the wisdom of a
messenger
of God, to know all
that `is'
in the land. '
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. ”
And
the king saith
unto
Joab, `Lo,
I pray
thee,
thou
hast
done
this thing;
and
go, bring back the young man Absalom. '
Then
the king said
to
Joab, “
I hereby
grant
this request.
Go, bring back the young man Absalom. ”
And
Joab falleth
on
his
face
to
the
earth,
and
doth
obeisance,
and blesseth
the king, and
Joab saith
, `To-day
hath
thy
servant known
that I
have
found grace
in
thine
eyes
, my lord ,
O
king, in
that
the king hath
done
the
word
of
his servant
. '
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
. ”
And
Joab riseth
and
goeth
to Geshur, and bringeth
in
Absalom to Jerusalem ,
So
Joab got
up,
went
to Geshur, and brought
Absalom to Jerusalem .
and
the king saith
, `Let
him
turn
round
unto
his house, and
my
face
he doth
not see. '
And
Absalom turneth
round
unto
his house, and
the
face
of
the
king
he hath
not seen
.
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
.
And
like
Absalom
there was no
man `so'
fair
in all Israel ,
to
praise
greatly;
from the sole of his foot even
unto
his crown
there
was
no
blemish
in
him;
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.
and in
his
polling
his
head
--
and
it
hath
been
at
the end
of year
by
year
that
he polleth
`it',
for
it `is'
heavy on
him,
and
he hath
polled
it --
he
hath
even
weighed
out the
hair
of
his
head
--
two hundred shekels by
the king's
weight
.
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
.
And
there
are
born to Absalom three
sons
, and one
daughter ,
and
her
name
`is'
Tamar ;
she
was a woman of
a
fair
appearance
.
Three
sons
were
born to Absalom, and a
daughter named
Tamar ,
who
was a beautiful
woman.
And
Absalom dwelleth
in Jerusalem two years of
days,
and
the face of the king he
hath
not
seen;
Now
Absalom lived
in Jerusalem two years without
seeing
the face of the king .
and
Absalom
sendeth
unto
Joab ,
to send him unto
the king, and
he
hath
not
been
willing
to come unto
him ;
and
he
sendeth
again
a second time, and
he
hath
not been
willing
to
come.
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.
And
he
saith
unto
his servants, `See
, the
portion
of
Joab
`
is '
by
the
side
of
mine, and he hath
barley there ;
go ,
and burn
it with
fire ;'
and the
servants of
Absalom
burn
the portion
with
fire.
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.
And
Joab riseth
and
cometh
unto
Absalom
in
the
house ,
and saith
unto
him
, `
Why have
thy
servants burned
the
portion
that
I
have
with
fire? '
Then
Joab came
to
Absalom’s
house and demanded
, “
Why did
your
servants set
my
field
on
fire? ”
And
Absalom
saith
unto
Joab
, `Lo
, I sent unto
thee,
saying
, Come hither,
and
I send thee
unto
the king to say,
Why have I come in
from Geshur? --
good
for me while
I `am'
there --
and
now, let me see the king's
face, and if there is in me iniquity
then
thou
hast
put
me to
death
. '
“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. ”
And
Joab cometh
unto
the king, and declareth
`it'
to
him,
and
he
calleth
unto
Absalom, and
he
cometh
unto
the
king,
and
boweth
himself
to him ,
on
his
face,
to
the
earth,
before
the
king,
and the king giveth
a
kiss
to
Absalom.
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.
Scripture text: Young's Literal Translation and Berean Standard Bible. Public domain.; Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC..