2 Samuel 14:4–11

⁴And when the woman of Tekoa ¹spoke to the king, she ^efell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, ^f“Help, O king!”

⁵Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?”

And she answered, ^g“Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. ⁶Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. ⁷And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him ^hfor the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.”

⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”

⁹And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, let ⁱthe ²iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, ^jand the king and his throne be guiltless.”

¹⁰So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.”

¹¹Then she said, “Please let the king remember the Lord your God, and do not permit ^kthe avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.”

And he said, ^l“As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”