2 Samuel

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.

1Joab was the son of Zeruiah. He was the leader of David's army. Joab could tell that the king missed his son Absalom.

2And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

2So Joab sent to the town of Tekoah for a wise woman. He said to her, "Please pretend that someone you love has died. Put on the clothes people wear when they are sad. Do not rub oil on your skin. Look like a woman who has been sad for a long time."

3And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

3"Then go to the king and say what I tell you." Joab told her exactly what words to use.

4And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

4The woman from Tekoah came to the king. She bowed with her face to the ground to show respect. She said, "Help me, O king!"

5And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

5The king asked her, "What is wrong?" She said, "My husband died. I am a widow, a woman whose husband is gone."

6And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

6"I had two sons. They got into a fight out in the field. No one was there to pull them apart. One son hit the other and killed him."

7And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

7"Now my whole family has turned against me. They say, 'Hand over the son who killed his brother. We will put him to death to pay for his brother's life.' They would take away the son who gets what our family owns. That would put out the last little spark I have left. My husband would have no name and no family left on earth."

8And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

8The king said to the woman, "Go home. I will give an order about your case."

9And the woman of Tekoah said unto 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.

9The woman of Tekoah said, "My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and my father's family. Let the king and his throne be free of blame."

10And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

10The king said, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me. He will not bother you again."

11Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

11Then she said, "Please ask the LORD your God to stop this. Do not let the family member who pays back a killing kill anyone else. Then my son will not be destroyed." The king said, "As surely as the LORD lives, not one hair of your son's head will fall to the ground."

NoteThe KJV says "revengers of blood." In Israel, when a person was killed, a close family member could go after the killer. That is who the woman is talking about.

12Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

12Then the woman said, "Please let me say one more thing to my lord the king." He said, "Go ahead."

13And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.

13The woman said, "Then why have you planned this same kind of thing against God's people? When the king says this, he shows he is in the wrong. He has not brought his own son home from far away."

14For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

14"We all must die. We are like water poured on the ground, which cannot be picked up again. God does not treat one person as better than another. Still he finds ways to bring back the one who was sent away, so that person is not kept away from him."

NoteThe KJV says God does not "respect any person." In 1611 that meant God does not treat one person as more important than another.

15Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

15"I came to speak to my lord the king because the people made me afraid. I said to myself, 'I will talk to the king. Maybe he will do what I ask.'"

16For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

16"I hoped the king would listen and save me. A man wants to destroy both me and my son. He would cut us off from the land God gave our family."

17Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

17"So I said, the word of my lord the king will bring me rest. My king can tell good from bad, like an angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you."

18Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

18Then the king said to the woman, "I am going to ask you something. Do not hide the answer from me." The woman said, "Let my lord the king ask."

19And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:

19The king said, "Is Joab helping you with all this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can get around what you say. Yes, your servant Joab told me to come. He gave me every word to say."

20To fetch about this form of speech hath thy 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.

20"Joab did this to change the way things are. My lord is wise, like an angel of God is wise. You know everything that happens in the land."

21And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

21The king said to Joab, "All right, I will do this. Go and bring the young man Absalom back."

22And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.

22Joab bowed with his face to the ground and thanked the king. He said, "Today I know you are pleased with me, my lord the king. You have done what I asked."

23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

23So Joab got up and went to Geshur. He brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.

24And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.

24But the king said, "Let him go to his own house. He must not see my face." So Absalom went home and did not see the king.

25But 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.

25In all Israel no man was praised for his looks like Absalom. From his feet to the top of his head, nothing about him looked wrong.

26And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.

26Absalom cut his hair once a year, because it grew so heavy. When he cut it, he weighed it. It weighed two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

NoteA shekel here is a weight, not a coin. Two hundred shekels of hair was about five pounds.

27And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.

27Absalom had three sons and one daughter. His daughter's name was Tamar. She was beautiful.

28So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.

28Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two whole years. In all that time he never saw the king's face.

29Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.

29Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king. But Joab would not come. Absalom sent a second time, and Joab still would not come.

30Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

30So Absalom said to his servants, "Look, Joab's field is next to mine. He has barley growing there. Go and set it on fire." And his servants set the field on fire.

31Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?

31Then Joab got up and went to Absalom's house. He asked, "Why did your servants set my field on fire?"

32And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

32Absalom said, "I sent for you to come here. I wanted you to ask the king something for me. Why did I come back from Geshur? It would be better if I had stayed there. Now let me see the king's face. If I have done wrong, let him kill me."

33So 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.

33So Joab went to the king and told him. The king sent for Absalom. Absalom came and bowed with his face to the ground. And the king kissed Absalom.