David Becomes King of Israel and Judah^(A)

11 All the people of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord your God promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

^4 (B)King David and all the Israelites went and attacked the city of Jerusalem. It was then known as Jebus, and the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were still living there. ⁵ The Jebusites told David he would never get inside the city, but David captured their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City.” ⁶ David said, “The first man to kill a Jebusite will be commander of the army!” Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the attack and became commander. ⁷ Because David went to live in the fortress, it came to be called “David's City.” ⁸ He rebuilt the city, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew stronger and stronger, because the Lord Almighty was with him.

Joab Arranges for Absalom's Return

14 Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much, ² so he sent for a clever woman who lived in Tekoa. When she arrived, he said to her, “Pretend that you are in mourning; put on your mourning clothes, and don't comb your hair. Act like a woman who has been in mourning for a long time. ³ Then go to the king and say to him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴ The woman went to the king, bowed down to the ground in respect, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵ “What do you want?” he asked her.

“I am a poor widow, sir,” she answered. “My husband is dead. ⁶ Sir, I had two sons, and one day they got into a quarrel out in the fields, where there was no one to separate them, and one of them killed the other. ⁷ And now, sir, all my relatives have turned against me and are demanding that I hand my son over to them, so that they can kill him for murdering his brother. If they do this, I will be left without a son. They will destroy my last hope and leave my husband without a son to keep his name alive.”