Absalom’s Return to Jerusalem

1And Joab son of Zeruiah, knew that the king's heart was for Absalom. 2And Joab will send to Tekoah and take from thence a wise woman, and he will say to her, Thou shalt mourn, and put on now garments of mourning, and thou shalt not be anointed with oil, and be thou as a woman this many days mourning for the dead: 3And come to the king and speak to him according to this word. And Joab will put words in her mouth.

4And the woman, the Tekoite, will speak to the king and fall upon her face to the earth, and worship him, and say, Save, O king! 5And the king will say to her, What to thee? And she will say, Truly I a widow woman, and my husband will die. 6And to thy servant two sons, and they two will strive in the field, and none delivering between them; and the one will smite the one and kill him. 7And behold, all the family rose up against thy servant, and they will say, Give him striking his brother and we will kill him for the soul of his brother whom he slew; and they destroyed also the heir, and quenched my coal which was left, so that name was not set to my husband and remainder upon the face of the earth.

8And the king will say to the woman, Go to thy house and I will command concerning thee. 9And the woman, the Tekoite, will say to the king, Upon me, my lord the king, the iniquity, and upon my father's house: and the king and his throne innocent. 10And the king will say, Who speaking to thee and bring him to me and he shall not add to touch upon thee. 11And she will say, The king will remember now, Jehovah thy God, the nearest relation of blood being multiplied to destroy, and they shall not destroy my son. And he will say, Jehovah living, if there shall fall from the hair of thy son to the earth.

12And the woman will say, Shall thy servant speak now a word to my lord the king? And the king will say, Speak. 13And the woman will say, And wherefore didst thou reckon according to this concerning the people of God? for the king speaks this word as transgressing for the king not to turn back his fugitive. 14For dying, we shall die, and as waters poured out on the earth, which will not be gathered; and God will not lift up the soul: and reckoning, he reckons that the fugitive shall not be driven out from him. 15And now that I came to speak to the king my lord, this word, for the people will see me, and thy servant will say, I will speak now to the king, perhaps the king will do the word of his servant. 16For the king will hear to deliver his servant from the band of the man destroying me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. 17And thy servant will say, Now will the word of my lord the king be for a sacrifice, for as a messenger of God, so my lord the king to hear the good and the evil: and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.

18And the king will answer and say to the woman, Now thou shalt not hide from me the word which I ask thee. And the woman will say, Now will my lord the king speak? 19And the king will say, The hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman will answer and say, Thy soul living, my lord the king, if there is to the right or to the left from all which my lord the king spake: for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy servant all these words. 20For the sake of turning about the face of the word, thy servant Joab did this word: and my lord was wise according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all which is upon the earth.

21And the king will say to Joab, Behold now, I did this word: and go and turn back the boy Absalom. 22And Joab will fall upon his face to the earth, and worship him, and bless the king: and Joab will say, This day thy servant knew that I found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, for that the king did the word of his servant. 23And Joab will rise and go to Geshur and bring Absalom to Jerusalem. 24And the king will say, He shall turn about to his house and not see my face. And Absalom will turn to his house and not see the face of the king.

25And as Absalom there was not a fair man in all Israel to praise greatly: from the sole of his foot and even to his crown, there was not a blemish in him. 26And in his shaving his head (and it was from the end of days to days that he will shave, for it was heavy upon him;) and he shaved and weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the stone of the king. 27And there will be born to Absalom three sons and one daughter, and her name Tamar: she was a woman of fair aspect.

Absalom Reconciled to David

28And Absalom dwelt in Jerusalem two years of days, and saw not the king's face. 29And Absalom will send to Joab to send him to the king, and he would not come to him: and he will send yet the second time, and he would not come. 30And he will say to his servants, See, Joab's portion to my hand, and barley to him there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the portion on fire. 31And Joab will rise and come to Absalom to the house, and say to him, Wherefore did thy servants set on fire the portion which is to me? 32And Absalom will say to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Wherefore came I from Geshur? Good to me even I was there: and now I will see the king's face; and if there is iniquity in me, and kill me. 33And Joab will come to the king and announce to him: and he will call for Absalom, and he will come to the king and worship to him upon his face to the earth before the king: and the king will kiss Absalom.