2 Samuel 14
14
Joab Arranges for Absalom's Return
1Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much, 2so he sent for a clever woman who lived in Tekoa. When she arrived, he said to her, “Pretend that you are in mourning; put on your mourning clothes, and don't comb your hair. Act like a woman who has been in mourning for a long time. 3Then go to the king and say to him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4The woman went to the king, bowed down to the ground in respect, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
5“What do you want?” he asked her.
“I am a poor widow, sir,” she answered. “My husband is dead. 6Sir, I had two sons, and one day they got into a quarrel out in the fields, where there was no one to separate them, and one of them killed the other. 7And now, sir, all my relatives have turned against me and are demanding that I hand my son over to them, so that they can kill him for murdering his brother. If they do this, I will be left without a son. They will destroy my last hope and leave my husband without a son to keep his name alive.”
8“Go back home,” the king answered, “and I will take care of the matter.”
9“Your Majesty,” she said, “whatever you do, my family and I will take the blame; you and the royal family are innocent.”
10The king replied, “If anyone threatens you, bring him to me, and he will never trouble you again.”
11She said, “Your Majesty, please pray to the LORD your God, so that my relative who is responsible for avenging the death of my son will not commit a greater crime by killing my other son.”
“I promise by the living LORD,” David replied, “that your son will not be harmed in the least.”
12“Please, Your Majesty, let me say just one more thing,” the woman said.
“All right,” he answered.
13She said to him, “Why have you done such a wrong to God's people? You have not allowed your own son to return from exile, and so you have condemned yourself by what you have just said. 14We will all die; we are like water spilt on the ground, which can't be gathered again. Even God does not bring the dead back to life, but the king can at least find a way to bring a man back from exile.#14.14 Probable text Even God… from exile; Hebrew unclear. 15Now, Your Majesty, the reason I have come to speak to you is that the people threatened me, and so I said to myself that I would speak to you in the hope that you would do what I ask. 16I thought you would listen to me and save me from the one who is trying to kill my son and me and so remove us from the land God gave his people. 17#2 Sam 19.27I said to myself that your promise, sir, would make me safe, because the king is like God's angel and can distinguish good from evil.#14.17 can distinguish good from evil; or knows everything. May the LORD your God be with you!”
18The king answered, “I'm going to ask you a question, and you must tell me the whole truth.”
“Ask me anything, Your Majesty,” she answered.
19“Did Joab put you up to this?” he asked her.
She answered, “I swear by all that is sacred, Your Majesty, that there is no way to avoid answering your question.#14.19 there is… question; or you are absolutely right. It was indeed your officer Joab who told me what to do and what to say. 20But he did it in order to straighten out this whole matter. Your Majesty is as wise as the angel of God and knows everything that happens.”
21Later on the king said to Joab, “I have decided to do what you want. Go and get the young man Absalom and bring him back here.”
22Joab threw himself to the ground in front of David in respect, and said, “God bless you, Your Majesty! Now I know that you are pleased with me, because you have granted my request.” 23Then he got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24The king, however, gave orders that Absalom should not live in the palace. “I don't want to see him,” the king said. So Absalom lived in his own house and did not appear before the king.
Absalom is Reconciled to David
25There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to foot. 26His hair was very thick, and he had to cut it once a year, when it grew too long and heavy. It would weigh more than two kilogrammes according to the royal standard of weights. 27Absalom had three sons and one daughter named Tamar, a very beautiful woman.
28Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king. 29Then he sent for Joab, to ask him to go to the king for him; but Joab would not come. Again Absalom sent for him, and again Joab refused to come. 30So Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab's field is next to mine, and it has barley growing in it. Go and set fire to it.” So they went and set the field on fire.
31Joab went to Absalom's house and demanded, “Why did your servants set fire to my field?”
32Absalom answered, “Because you wouldn't come when I sent for you. I wanted you to go to the king and ask him from me: ‘Why did I leave Geshur and come here? It would have been better for me to have stayed there.’ ” And Absalom went on, “I want you to arrange for me to see the king, and if I'm guilty, then let him put me to death.”
33So Joab went to King David and told him what Absalom had said. The king sent for Absalom, who went to him and bowed down to the ground in front of him. The king welcomed him with a kiss.
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2 Samuel 14: GNBUK
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
2 Samuel 14
14
Joab Arranges for Absalom’s Return
1Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions.#14:2 Hebrew don’t anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4When the woman from Tekoa approached#14:4 As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads spoke to. the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”
5“What’s the trouble?” the king asked.
“Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead. 6My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. 7Now the rest of the family is demanding, ‘Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”
8“Leave it to me,” the king told her. “Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”
9“Oh, thank you, my lord the king,” the woman from Tekoa replied. “If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father’s house, and let the king and his throne be innocent.”
10“If anyone objects,” the king said, “bring him to me. I can assure you he will never harm you again!”
11Then she said, “Please swear to me by the Lord your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.”
“As surely as the Lord lives,” he replied, “not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”
12“Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king,” she said.
“Go ahead and speak,” he responded.
13She replied, “Why don’t you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. 14All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.
15“I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me 16and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance#14:16 Or the property; or the people. God has given us. 17Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the Lord your God be with you.”
18“I must know one thing,” the king replied, “and tell me the truth.”
“Yes, my lord the king,” she responded.
19“Did Joab put you up to this?”
And the woman replied, “My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. 20He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!”
21So the king sent for Joab and told him, “All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom.”
22Joab bowed with his face to the ground in deep respect and said, “At last I know that I have gained your approval, my lord the king, for you have granted me this request!”
23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.
Absalom Reconciled to David
25Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. 26He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!#14:26 Hebrew 200 shekels [2.3 kilograms] by the royal standard. 27He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
28Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king. 29Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. 30So Absalom said to his servants, “Go and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next to mine.” So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.
31Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”
32And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.”
33So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him.
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