¹² In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled^(A) himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Joab^(A) son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. ² So Joab sent someone to Tekoa^(B) and had a wise woman^(C) brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions.^(D) 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^(E) put the words in her mouth.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa went^[a] 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. ⁷ Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death^(F) for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir^(G) as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left,^(H) leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

⁸ The king said to the woman, “Go home,^(I) and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

⁹ But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon^(J) me and my family,^(K) and let the king and his throne be without guilt.^(L)”

¹⁰ The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

¹¹ She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger^(M) of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair^(N) of your son’s head will fall to the ground.^(O)”

²⁷ “‘If any member of the community sins unintentionally^(A) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, when they realize their guilt ²⁸ and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering^(B) for the sin they committed a female goat^(C) without defect. ²⁹ They are to lay their hand on the head^(D) of the sin offering^(E) and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.^{(F) 30} Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering^(G) and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar^(H) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^(I) In this way the priest will make atonement^(J) for them, and they will be forgiven.^(K)

¹⁶ When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering^[a](A) and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering^(B) in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt^(C) of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. ¹⁸ Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place,^(D) you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.^(E)”

¹⁶ When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering^[a](A) and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering^(B) in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt^(C) of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. ¹⁸ Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place,^(D) you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.^(E)”