Shemu’ĕl Bĕt (2 Samuel) 14
14
1And Yo’aḇ son of Tseruyah knew that the heart of the sovereign was towards Aḇshalom.
2And Yo’aḇ sent to Teqowa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.
3“Then you shall go to the sovereign and speak to him according to this word.” And Yo’aḇ put the words in her mouth.
4And when the woman of Teqowa spoke to the sovereign, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, “Save, O sovereign!”
5And the sovereign said to her, “What is your trouble?” And she answered, “Truly I am a widow, my husband is dead.
6“And your female servant had two sons. And the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him.
7“And see, the entire clan has risen up against your female servant and said, ‘Give him who struck his brother, so that we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, and destroy the heir also.’ Thus they would extinguish my burning coal that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.”
8And the sovereign said to the woman, “Go to your house, and let me give commands concerning you.”
9And the woman of Teqowa said to the sovereign, “My master, O sovereign, let the crookedness be on me and on my father’s house, and the sovereign and his throne be guiltless.”
10And the sovereign said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and let him no longer touch you.”
11And she said, “Please let the sovereign remember יהוה your Elohim, and the redeemer of blood not destroy any more, lest they destroy my son.” And he said, “As יהוה lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12And the woman said, “Please, let your female servant speak a word to my master the sovereign.” And he said, “Speak.”
13And the woman said, “And why have you reasoned like this against the people of Elohim? For in speaking this word the sovereign is as one who is guilty, in that the sovereign does not bring his outcast one home again.
14“For we shall certainly die and become like water spilled on the ground, which is not gathered up again. Yet Elohim does not take away a life, but shall devise ways, so that His outcast ones are not cast out from Him.
15“And now I have come to speak this word to my master the sovereign because the people have made me afraid. And your female servant said, ‘Please let me speak to the sovereign, it could be that the sovereign does what his female servant asks,
16for the sovereign has listened to deliver his female servant from the hand of the man seeking to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of Elohim.’
17“Then your female servant said, ‘Please let the word of my master the sovereign be comforting, for my master the sovereign is as the messenger of Elohim, in discerning the good and the evil. And יהוה your Elohim is with you.’ ”
18And the sovereign answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me the matter that I am asking you.” And the woman said, “Please, let my master the sovereign speak.”
19And the sovereign said, “Is the hand of Yo’aḇ with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As your being lives, my master the sovereign, no one turns to the right or to the left from all that my master the sovereign has spoken. For your servant Yo’aḇ commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your female servant.
20“Your servant Yo’aḇ has done this to change the appearance of the matter. But my master is wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of Elohim, to know all that is in the earth.”
21And the sovereign said to Yo’aḇ, “See now, you shall do this matter. And go, bring back the young man Aḇshalom.”
22And Yo’aḇ fell to the ground on his face and did obeisance, and blessed the sovereign. And Yo’aḇ said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favour in your eyes, my master, O sovereign, in that the sovereign has done the word of his servant.”
23And Yo’aḇ rose up and went to Geshur, and brought Aḇshalom to Yerushalayim.
24And the sovereign said, “Let him return to his own house, but do not let him see my face.” And Aḇshalom went to his own house, and did not see the sovereign’s face.
25And in all Yisra’ĕl there was no one who was praised as much as Aḇshalom for his handsomeness. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26And when he cut the hair of his head – for it was at every year’s end that he cut it because it was heavy on him – when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred sheqels by the sovereign’s weight.
27And to Aḇshalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.
28And Aḇshalom dwelt in Yerushalayim, two years, and he had not seen the sovereign’s face.
29Then Aḇshalom sent for Yo’aḇ, to send him to the sovereign, but he would not come to him. And he sent again the second time, but he would not come.
30And he said to his servants, “See, Yo’aḇ’s field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” And Aḇshalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31Then Yo’aḇ rose up and came to the house of Aḇshalom, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32And Aḇshalom said to Yo’aḇ, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I send you to the sovereign, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It was good for me while I was there.” ’ And now, let me see the sovereign’s face. And if there is any crookedness in me, then you shall put me to death.”
33Yo’aḇ then went to the sovereign and informed him. And he called for Aḇshalom, and he came to the sovereign and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the sovereign. Then the sovereign kissed Aḇshalom.
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Shemu’ĕl Bĕt (2 Samuel) 14: TS2009
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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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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.