⁴ When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, ^(A)she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, ^(B)“Save me, O king.”

²⁶ Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” ²⁷ And he said, “If the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” ²⁸ And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

² And on the third day, behold, ^(A)a man came from Saul's camp, ^(B)with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^(C)he fell to the ground and paid homage.

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried ^(A)and got down from the donkey ^(B)and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground.

³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^(A)‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”

⁴¹ And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap^[a] and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.