1 Then Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah perceyued, that the Kings heart was toward Absalom, 2 And Ioab sent to Tekoah, and brought thence a subtile woman, and sayd vnto her, I pray thee, fayne thy selfe to mourne, and nowe put on mourning apparel, and anoynt not thy selfe with oyle: but be as a woman that had now long time mourned for the dead. 3 And come to the King, and speake on this maner vnto him, (for Ioab taught her what she should say). 4 Then the woman of Tekoah spake vnto the king, and fel downe on her face to the ground, and did obeysance, and sayd, Helpe, O King. 5 Then the King sayd vnto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am in deede a widow, and mine husband is dead: 6 And thine handmayd had two sonnes, and they two stroue together in the fielde: (and there was none to part them) so the one smote the other, and slew him. 7 And beholde, the whole familie is risen against thine handmayde, and they sayde, Deliuer him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the soule of his brother whome hee slewe, that we may destroy the heire also: so they shall quenche my sparkle which is left, and shall not leaue to mine husband neither name nor posteritie vpon the earth. 8 And the King said vnto the woman, Go to thine house, and I wil giue a charge for thee. 9 Then the woman of Tekoah said vnto the King, My lord, O King, this trespas be on me, and on my fathers house, and the King and his throne be giltlesse. 10 And the King sayde, Bring him to me that speaketh against thee, and he shall touche thee no more. 11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the King remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer many reuengers of blood to destroy, lest they slay my sonne. And he answered, As the Lord liueth, there shall not one heare of thy sonne fall to the earth. 12 Then the woman said, I pray thee, let thine handmayde speake a worde to my lord the King. And he sayd, Say on. 13 Then the woman sayde, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? or why doeth the King, as one which is faultie, speake this thing, that he will not bring againe his banished? 14 For we must needes dye, and we are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered vp againe: neither doeth God spare any person, yet doeth he appoynt meanes, not to cast out from him, him that is expelled. 15 Nowe therefore that I am come to speake of this thing vnto my lord the King, the cause is that the people haue made me afrayd: therefore thine handmayde sayd, Nowe will I speake vnto the King: it may be that the King will perfourme the request of his handmayde. 16 For the King wil heare, to deliuer his handmayde out of the hande of the man that woulde destroy mee, and also my sonne from the inheritance of God. 17 Therefore thine handmaid sayd, The word of my lord the King shall now be comfortable: for my lorde the King is euen as an Angel of God in hearing of good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God be with thee. 18 Then the King answered, and said vnto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall aske thee. And the woman sayde, Let my lord the King now speake. 19 And the King said, Is not the hand of Ioab with thee in all this? Then the woman answered, and sayd, As thy soule liueth, my lord the King, I will not turne to the right hande nor to the left, from ought that my lorde the King hath spoken: for euen thy seruant Ioab bade mee, and he put all these wordes in the mouth of thine handmayde. 20 For to the intent that I should chage the forme of speach, thy seruant Ioab hath done this thing: but my lord is wise according to the wisdome of an Angel of God to vnderstande all things that are in the earth. 21 And the King sayde vnto Ioab, Beholde nowe, I haue done this thing: go then, and bring the yong man Absalom againe. 22 And Ioab fell to the grounde on his face, and bowed himselfe, and thanked the King. Then Ioab sayde, This day thy seruant knoweth, that I haue found grace in thy sight, my lord the King, in that the King hath fulfilled the request of his seruant. 23 And Ioab arose, and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Ierusalem. 24 And the King sayde, Let him turne to his owne house, and not see my face. So Absalom turned to his owne house, and saw not the Kings face. 25 Nowe in all Israel there was none to be so much praysed for beautie as Absalom: from the sole of his foote euen to the toppe of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he polled his head, (for at euery yeeres ende he polled it: because it was too heauie for him, therefore he polled it) he weyghed the heare of his head at two hundreth shekels by the Kings weight. 27 And Absalom had three sonnes, and one daughter named Tamar, which was a fayre woman to looke vpon. 28 So Absalom dwelt the space of two yeres in Ierusalem, and saw not the Kings face. 29 Therefore Absalom sent for Ioab to sende him to the King, but he would not come to him: and when he sent againe, he would not come. 30 Therefore he sayde vnto his seruants, Beholde, Ioab hath a fielde by my place, and hath barley therein: go, and set it on fire: and Absaloms seruants set the field on fire. 31 Then Ioab arose, and came to Absalom vnto his house, and sayd vnto him, Wherefore haue thy seruants burnt my field with fire? 32 And Absalom answered Ioab, Beholde, I sent for thee, saying, Come thou hither, and I wil send thee to the King for to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? It had bene better for me to haue bene there still: nowe therefore let mee see the Kings face: and if there be any trespasse in me, let him kill me. 33 Then Ioab came to the King, and told him: and he called for Absalom, who came to the King, and bowed himselfe to the grounde on his face before the King, and the King kissed Absalom.
Joab Arranges for Absalom's Return
1 Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much, 2 so 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. 3 Then go to the king and say to him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4 The 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. 6 Sir, 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. 7 And 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.”
10 The king replied, “If anyone threatens you, bring him to me, and he will never bother you again.”
11 She 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.
13 She 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. 14 We will all die; we are like water spilled 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. 15 Now, 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. 16 I 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 I 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. May the Lord your God be with you!”
18 The 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. It was indeed your officer Joab who told me what to do and what to say. 20 But 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.”
21 Later 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.”
22 Joab 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.” 23 Then he got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 The 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
25 There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to toe. 26 His hair was very thick, and he had to cut it once a year, when it grew too long and heavy. It would weigh about five pounds according to the royal standard of weights. 27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter named Tamar, a very beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king. 29 Then 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. 30 So 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.
31 Joab went to Absalom's house and demanded, “Why did your servants set fire to my field?”
32 Absalom answered, “Because you wouldn't come when I sent for you. I wanted you to go to the king and ask for 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.”
33 So 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.