2 Samuel 14–15

Joab Sends a Wise Woman to David

14Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much. ²So Joab sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He said to her, “Pretend to be very sad. Put on funeral clothes and don’t put lotion on yourself. Act like a woman who has been crying many days for someone who died. ³Then go to the king and say these words.” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴So the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king. She bowed facedown on the ground to show respect and said, “My king, help me!”

⁵King David asked her, “What is the matter?”

The woman said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting, and no one was there to stop them. So one son killed the other son. ⁷Now all the family group is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring the son who killed his brother so we may kill him for killing his brother. That way we will also get rid of the one who would receive what belonged to his father.’ My son is like the last spark of a fire. He is all I have left. If they kill him, my husband’s name and property will be gone from the earth.”

⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Go home. I will take care of this for you.”

⁹The woman of Tekoa said to him, “Let the blame be on me and my father’s family. My master and king, you and your throne are innocent.”

¹⁰King David said, “Bring me anyone who says anything bad to you. Then he won’t bother you again.”

¹¹The woman said, “Please promise in the name of the Lord your God. Then my relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer won’t add to the destruction by killing my son.”

David said, “As surely as the Lord lives, no one will hurt your son. Not one hair from his head will fall to the ground.”

¹²The woman said, “Let me say something to you, my master and king.”

The king said, “Speak.”

¹³Then the woman said, “Why have you decided this way against the people of God? When you judge this way, you show that you are guilty for not bringing back your son who was forced to leave home. ¹⁴We will all die someday. We’re like water spilled on the ground; no one can gather it back. But God doesn’t take away life. Instead, he plans ways that those who have been sent away will not have to stay away from him! ¹⁵My master and king, I came to say this to you because the people have made me afraid! I thought, ‘Let me talk to the king. Maybe he will do what I ask. ¹⁶Maybe he will listen. Perhaps he will save me from those who want to keep both me and my son from getting what God gave us.’

¹⁷“Now I say, ‘May the words of my master the king give me rest. Like an angel of God, you know what is good and what is bad. May the Lord your God be with you!’ ”

¹⁸Then King David said, “Do not hide the truth. Answer me one question.”

The woman said, “My master the king, please ask your question.”

¹⁹The king said, “Did Joab tell you to say all these things?”

The woman answered, “As you live, my master the king, no one could avoid that question. You are right. Your servant Joab did tell me to say these things. ²⁰Joab did it so you would see things differently. My master, you are wise like an angel of God who knows everything that happens on earth.”

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

²¹The king said to Joab, “Look, I will do what I promised. Bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab bowed facedown on the ground and blessed the king. Then he said, “Today I know you are pleased with me, because you have done what I asked.”

²³Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴But King David said, “Absalom must go to his own house. He may not come to see me.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not go to see the king.

²⁵Absalom was greatly praised for his handsome appearance. No man in Israel was as handsome as he. No blemish was on him from his head to his foot. ²⁶At the end of every year, Absalom would cut his hair, because it became too heavy. When he weighed it, it would weigh about five pounds by the royal measure.

²⁷Absalom had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was also Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without seeing King David. ²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab so he could send him to the king, but Joab would not come. Absalom sent a message a second time, but Joab still refused to come. ³⁰Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley growing there. Go burn it.” So Absalom’s servants set fire to Joab’s field.

³¹Then Joab went to Absalom’s house and said to him, “Why did your servants burn my field?”

³²Absalom said to Joab, “I sent a message to you, asking you to come here. I wanted to send you to the king to ask him why he brought me home from Geshur. It would have been better for me to stay there! Now let me see the king. If I have sinned, he can put me to death!”

³³So Joab went to the king and told him Absalom’s words. Then the king called for Absalom. Absalom came and bowed facedown on the ground before the king, and the king kissed him.

Absalom Plans to Take David’s Kingdom

15After this, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself and fifty men to run before him. ²Absalom would get up early and stand near the city gate. ⁿ Anyone who had a problem for the king to settle would come here. When someone came, Absalom would call out and say, “What city are you from?”

The person would answer, “I’m from one of the tribes of Israel.”

³Then Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are right, but the king has no one to listen to you.” ⁴Absalom would also say, “I wish someone would make me judge in this land! Then people with problems could come to me, and I could help them get justice.”

⁵People would come near Absalom to bow to him. When they did, Absalom would reach out his hand and take hold of them and kiss them. ⁶Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to King David for decisions. In this way, Absalom stole the hearts of all Israel.

⁷After four years Absalom said to King David, “Please let me go to Hebron. I want to carry out my promise that I made to the Lord ⁸while I was living in Geshur in Aram. I said, ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship him in Hebron.’ ”

⁹The king said, “Go in peace.”

So Absalom went to Hebron. ¹⁰But he sent secret messengers through all the tribes of Israel. They told the people, “When you hear the trumpets, say this: ‘Absalom is the king at Hebron!’ ”

¹¹Absalom had invited two hundred men to go with him. So they went from Jerusalem with him, but they didn’t know what he was planning. ¹²While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of the people who advised David, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So Absalom’s plans were working very well. More and more people began to support him.

¹³A messenger came to David, saying, “The Israelites are giving their loyalty to Absalom.”

¹⁴Then David said to all his officers who were with him in Jerusalem, “We must leave quickly! If we don’t, we won’t be able to get away from Absalom. We must hurry before he catches us and destroys us and kills the people of Jerusalem.”

¹⁵The king’s officers said to him, “We will do anything you say.”

¹⁶The king set out with everyone in his house, but he left ten slave women to take care of the palace. ¹⁷The king left with all his people following him, and they stopped at a house far away. ¹⁸All the king’s servants passed by him—the Kerethites and Pelethites, ⁿ all those from Gath, and the six hundred men who had followed him.

¹⁹The king said to Ittai, a man from Gath, “Why are you also going with us? Turn back and stay with King Absalom because you are a foreigner. This is not your homeland. ²⁰You joined me only a short time ago. Should I make you wander with us when I don’t even know where I’m going? Turn back and take your brothers with you. May kindness and loyalty be shown to you.”

²¹But Ittai said to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will stay with you, whether it means life or death.”

²²David said to Ittai, “Go, march on.” So Ittai from Gath and all his people with their children marched on. ²³All the people cried loudly as everyone passed by. King David crossed the Kidron Valley, and then all the people went on to the desert. ²⁴Zadok and all the Levites with him carried the Ark of the Agreement with God. They set it down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had left the city.

²⁵The king said to Zadok, “Take the Ark of God back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back and will let me see both it and Jerusalem again. ²⁶But if the Lord says he is not pleased with me, I am ready. He can do what he wants with me.”

²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer? Go back to the city in peace and take your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan with you. ²⁸I will wait near the crossings into the desert until I hear from you.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰David went up the Mount of Olives, crying as he went. He covered his head and went barefoot. All the people with David covered their heads also and cried as they went. ³¹Someone told David, “Ahithophel is one of the people with Absalom who made secret plans against you.”

So David prayed, “Lord, please make Ahithophel’s advice foolish.”

³²When David reached the top of the mountain where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite came to meet him. Hushai’s coat was torn, and there was dirt on his head to show how sad he was. ³³David said to Hushai, “If you go with me, you will be just one more person for me to take care of. ³⁴But if you return to the city, you can make Ahithophel’s advice useless. Tell Absalom, ‘I am your servant, my king. In the past I served your father, but now I will serve you.’ ³⁵The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you. Tell them everything you hear in the royal palace. ³⁶Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan are with…