²⁶ One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!”

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

²⁸ yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.^[a]”

³ A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’