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.”

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