1 Joab son of Zeruiah realized {yada‘: perceived thoroughly} that the king’s heart {lev: inner disposition} was toward Absalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoa {teqoah: town south of Jerusalem} and took from there a wise {chachamah: skillful adviser} woman. He then said to her, “Please mourn and put on garments of mourning, do not anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has mourned for many days for the dead.”
3 And you shall come to the king and speak to him according to this word {davar: authoritative message}; and Joab put the words in her mouth {peh: spoken expression}.
4 And the woman from Tekoa {Tekoa: town in Judah} said to the king, and she fell upon her face {apeha: posture of humility} to the ground and bowed herself, and she said, “Help, O king!”
5 And the king said to her, “What is troubling {mah-lakh: distressing concern} you?” She replied, “Indeed, I am a widow {almanah: bereaved woman with no husband}; my husband has died.”
6 “Now your servant woman had two sons. The two of them fought in the field, and there was no one to rescue {matsil: deliver from danger} them. The one struck {vayakko: dealt a fatal blow} the other and killed him.”
7 And behold, the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant, and they say, “Give up the one who struck his brother so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.” And they add, “Let us destroy the heir as well.” In this way, they would quench my only ember {gachalti: sole remaining hope} which remains, so as to leave my husband neither name nor remnant {she’erit: lasting family line} on the face of the earth.
8 Then the king {hamelekh: sovereign ruler} said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give a command {atsaveh: issue a directive} concerning you.”
9 The woman of Tekoa {teqoit: town resident} said to the king, “May the guilt be on me and on my father’s house; but the king and his throne shall be innocent {naki: free from wrongdoing}.”
10 The king said, “Whoever speaks to you {hamdaber: formal claimant}, bring him to me, and he shall not touch {lāgaʿat: physical assault} you again.”
11 She said, “Let the king now remember the LORD {YHWH, Oath Witness} your God {Elohim, Covenant Guardian}, so that the avenger {go’el: blood avenger} may not multiply to destroy my son.” And he said, “As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12 And the woman said, “Let your servant {shifkhatekha: humble self-designation} speak a word {davar: brief petition} to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.”
13 And the woman said, “So why have you planned such a thing against the people of God {Elohim, Divine Authority}? By speaking this word, the king renders himself guilty, for the king does not bring back his banished one {nidcho: outcast}.”
14 For we will surely die, and we are like water {mayim: uncontrollable flow} spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again, and God {Elohim, Merciful Planner} does not remove life; but He devises plans so that those who have been banished are not driven away from Him.
15 And now that I have come to speak to the king, my lord, about this matter because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant {shifchah: court petitioner} said, “Let me speak, please, to the king; perhaps he will grant the petition {devar: formal request} of his maidservant.”
16 For the king will hear to deliver his servant {amato: female slave} from the hand of the man who would destroy both me and my son together from the inheritance of God {Elohim, Divine Possessor}.
17 And your maidservant said, “May the word of my lord the king provide rest, for like an angel of God {Elohim: wisdom revealer}, so is my lord the king in discerning the good and the evil {ra: moral wrong}. May the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheikha: guiding supporter} be with you.”
18 And the king {melekh: sovereign ruler} answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me anything {davar: matter} that I am asking you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak, please.”
19 And the king said, “Is the hand {yad: symbol of influence} of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As surely as the soul of my lord the king lives, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king has spoken, for your servant Joab commanded me and put all these words into the mouth of your maidservant {shifkhah: female servant}.”
20 For the sake of turning the course of this matter, your servant Joab did this thing. And my lord is wise, like the wisdom of an angel of God {Elohim, Divine Messenger}, to know all that is in the land {eretz: Domain of Rule}.
21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now {hinneh-na: look and take note}, I have done this thing {davar: issue at hand}. Go, restore the young man Absalom.”
22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground and bowed down, and he blessed the king. Then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king {adoni hamelekh: royal sovereign}, because the king has fulfilled the word {devar: formal petition} of his servant.”
23 Then Joab arose and went to Geshur {Geshurah: strategic border region}, and he brought Absalom to Jerusalem {Yerushalayim: central city of worship}.
24 But the king {hamelekh: royal judge} said, “Let him turn to his house, but my face he must not see.” So Absalom {Avshalom: father of peace} turned to his house and did not see the king’s face.
25 Now in all Israel there was no man to be praised so highly for his appearance as Absalom {Avshalom: son of David}; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no flaw {mum: physical defect} found in him.
26 And whenever he shaved his head, it was at the close of the year {miqets: end of period}; at the time he would shave it—because his hair weighed heavily on him—he would shave it and then weigh the hair of his head: two hundred shekels by the king’s stone {even hamelekh: royal standard}.
27 Three sons and one daughter were born to Absalom {Avshalom: David’s son}. Her name was Tamar; she was a woman beautiful in appearance {mareh: outward form}.
28 And Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years {shenatayim: dual duration} without seeing the king’s face {pnei: personal access}.
29 Absalom sent Joab to the king {hamelech: royal authority}, but Joab was unwilling to come to him. Absalom sent again {od: additional attempt}, but Joab was unwilling to come.
30 And he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley {seorim: coarse grain} there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s {Avshalom: father of peace} servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab {Yo’av: King’s commander} arose and came to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field {khelkah: portion of land} on fire?”
32 And Absalom said to Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here so I may send you to the king {hamelech: royal authority} to say, “Why did I come from Geshur? It would have been better for me to still be there.” Now then, let me see the king’s face and, if there is guilt {avon: moral transgression} in me, let him put me to death.’”
33 So Joab came to the king and told him; then he called {vayyikra: royal summons} for Absalom, and he came to the king and bowed himself {vayyishtakhu: deep homage} with his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.