| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. | 1Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see Absalom. |
| 2So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time. | 2So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, "Pretend to be in mourning and put on garments for mourning. Don't anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. |
| 3Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. | 3Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion." Then Joab told her what to say. |
| 4When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!” | 4So the Tekoan woman went to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, "Please help me, O king!" |
| 5“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead. | 5The king replied to her, "What do you want?" She answered, "I am a widow; my husband is dead. |
| 6And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him. | 6Your servant has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him. |
| 7Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.” | 7Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, 'Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.' They want to extinguish my remaining coal, leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband." |
| 8“Go home,” the king said to the woman, “and I will give orders on your behalf.” | 8Then the king told the woman, "Go to your home. I will give instructions concerning your situation." |
| 9But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.” | 9The Tekoan woman said to the king, "My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father. But let the king and his throne be innocent!" |
| 10“If anyone speaks to you,” said the king, “bring him to me, and he will not trouble you again!” | 10The king said, "Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won't bother you again!" |
| 11“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.” | 11She replied, "In that case, let the king invoke the name of the LORD your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill! Then they will not destroy my son!" He replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, not a single hair of your son's head will fall to the ground." |
| 12Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied. | 12Then the woman said, "Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter." He replied, "Tell me." |
| 13The woman asked, “Why have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, since he has not brought back his own banished son? | 13The woman said, "Why have you devised something like this against God's people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished. |
| 14For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him. | 14Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. |
| 15Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant. | 15I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. But your servant said, 'I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant asks. |
| 16For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’ | 16Yes! The king may listen and deliver his female servant from the hand of the man who seeks to remove both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!' |
| 17And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’ ” | 17So your servant said, 'May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the LORD your God be with you!'" |
| 18Then the king said to the woman, “I am going to ask you something; do not conceal it from me!” “Let my lord the king speak,” she replied. | 18Then the king replied to the woman, "Don't hide any information from me when I question you." The woman said, "Let my lord the king speak!" |
| 19So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say. | 19The king said, "Did Joab put you up to all of this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant's mouth. |
| 20Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.” | 20Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land." |
| 21Then the king said to Joab, “I hereby grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.” | 21Then the king said to Joab, "All right! I will do this thing! Go and bring back the young man Absalom! |
| 22Joab fell facedown in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” said Joab, “your servant knows that he has found favor with you, my lord the king, because the king has granted his request.” | 22Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your servant!" |
| 23So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. | 23So Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. |
| 24But the king added, “He may return to his house, but he must not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the king. | 24But the king said, "Let him go over to his own house. He may not see my face." So Absalom went over to his own house; he did not see the king's face. |
| 25Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw. | 25Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance. |
| 26And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard. | 26When he would shave his head--at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long and he would shave it--he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds according to the king's weight. |
| 27Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman. | 27Absalom had three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a very attractive woman. |
| 28Now Absalom lived in Jerusalem two years without seeing the face of the king. | 28Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king's face. |
| 29Then he sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So Absalom sent a second time, but Joab still would not come. | 29Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come. |
| 30Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. | 30So he said to his servants, "Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set Joab's portion of the field on fire. |
| 31Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?” | 31Then Joab got up and came to Absalom's house. He said to him, "Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?" |
| 32“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.” | 32Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent a message to you saying, 'Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there."' Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!" |
| 33So Joab went and told the king, and David summoned Absalom, who came to him and bowed facedown before him. Then the king kissed Absalom. | 33So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him. |
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