2 Samuel 14:1–6

1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him.

1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart went out to Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead. 3 Go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.” 5 And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 And your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: 3 And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. 5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

1 Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2 So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3 Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.

4 When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”

5 “What’s the trouble?” the king asked.

“Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead. 6 My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed.

1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much. 2 So 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. 3 Then go to the king and say these words.” Then Joab told her what to say.

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

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

The woman said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I 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.

1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead: 3 and go in to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. 5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.

1 And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead; 3 and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth. 4 And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king! 5 And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead. 6 And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.

1 Joab, Zeruiah’s son, knew the king was still thinking about Absalom. 2 So Joab sent ⸤someone⸥ to Tekoa to get a clever woman from there. He told her, “Please act like a mourner, and dress in mourning clothes. Don’t rub olive oil on yourself,but act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3 Go to the king, and tell him this.…” Then Joab told her exactly what to say. 

4 The woman from Tekoa cameto the king and immediately bowed down with her face touching the ground. “Help ⸤me⸥, Your Majesty,” she said. 

5 The king asked her, “What can I do for you?” 

She answered, “I’m a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I had two sons who quarreled in the field, and there was no one to separate them. One killed the other.

1 Joab son of Zeruiah observed that the king’s mind was on Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to bring a clever woman from there. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don’t put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3 Go to the king and speak these words to him.” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.

4 When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell with her face to the ground in homage and said, “Help me, my king!”

5 “What’s the matter?” the king asked her.

“To tell the truth, I am a widow; my husband died,” she said. 6 “Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

1 Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s mind was on Absalom. 2 Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner; put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead. 3 Go to the king and speak to him as follows.” And Joab put the words into her mouth.

4 When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance and said, “Help, O king!” 5 The king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 Your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field; there was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him.

1 Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king was on Absalom. 2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, “Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself with oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for a long time. 3 Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word.” Thus Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 So the Tekoite woman spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance. She said, “Help me, O king!” 5 Then the king asked her, “What do you want?” And she said, “Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 6 Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there was no one to part them. One struck the other and killed him.

1 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, knew that the king longed to see Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to have a wise woman brought back from there. Joab said to her, “Pretend you are filled with sadness. Put on black clothes. Don’t use any makeup. Act like a woman who has spent many days sobbing over someone who has died. 3 Then go to the king. Give him the message I’m about to give you.” And Joab told her what to say.

4 The woman from Tekoa went to the king. She bowed down with her face toward the ground. She did it to show him respect. She said, “King David, please help me!”

5 The king asked her, “What’s bothering you?”

She said, “I’m a widow. My husband is dead. 6 I had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field. No one was there to separate them. One of my sons struck the other one down and killed him.

1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was inclined toward Absalom.

2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead many days;

3 then go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 Now when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself and said, “Help, O king.”

5 The king said to her, “What is your trouble?” And she answered, “Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

6 “Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled together in the field, and there was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him.