2 Samuel 14-15

New American Standard Bible

The Woman of Tekoa

14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that ^(A)the king’s heart was drawn toward Absalom. ² So Joab sent a messenger to ^(B)Tekoa and ^[a]brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please follow mourning rites, and put on mourning garments now, and do not ^(C)anoint yourself with oil but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him in this way.” So Joab put ^(D)the words in her mouth.

⁴ Now when the woman of Tekoa ^[b]spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and ^(E)prostrated herself, and said, “^(F)Help, O king!” ⁵ And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she ^[c]answered, “Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead. ⁶ And your servant had two sons, but the two of them fought in the field, and there was no ^[d]one to save ^[e]them from each other, so one struck the other and killed him. ⁷ Now behold, ^(G)the entire family has risen against your servant, and they have said, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, ^(H)and eliminate the heir as well.’ So they will extinguish my coal which is left, so as to ^[f]leave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your home, and I will issue orders concerning you.” ⁹ The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, the king, ^(I)the guilt is on me and my father’s house, but ^(J)the king and his throne are guiltless.” ¹⁰ So the king said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore.” ¹¹ Then she said, “May the king please remember the Lord your God, ^(K)so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son.” And he said, “^(L)As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.” ¹³ The woman said, “^(M)Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is like one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back ^(N)his banished one. ¹⁴ For ^(O)we will surely die and are ^(P)like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. Yet God does not take away life, but makes plans so that ^(Q)the banished one will not be cast out from Him. ¹⁵ Now then, ^[g]the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the ^[h]request of his slave. ¹⁶ For the king will listen, to save his slave from the ^[i]hand of the man who would eliminate ^[j]both me and my son from ^(R)the inheritance of God.’ ¹⁷ Then your servant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king be ^[k]comforting, for as ^(S)the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king please speak.” ¹⁹ So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman replied, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was ^(T)your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant. ²⁰ In order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, ^(U)like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.”

Absalom Returns

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, ^(V)I ^[l]will certainly do this thing; go then, bring back the young man Absalom.” ²² And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself, and blessed the king; then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has performed the ^[m]request of his servant.” ²³ So Joab arose and went to ^(W)Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ However, the king said, “He shall return to ^(X)his own house, but he shall not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.

²⁵ Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; ^(Y)from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no impairment in him. ²⁶ And when he ^(Z)cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at ^[n]two hundred shekels by the king’s weight. ²⁷ And ^(AA)to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was ^(AB)Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.

²⁸ Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, ^(AC)yet he did not see the king’s face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent word again a second time, but he would not come. ³⁰ Therefore he said to his servants, “See, ^(AD)Joab’s plot is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the plot on fire. ³¹ Then Joab got up, came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my plot on fire?” ³² Absalom ^[o]answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, ^(AE)and if there is guilt in me, he can have me executed.” ³³ So when Joab came to the king and told him, he summoned Absalom. Then Absalom came to the king and prostrated himself ^[p]with his face to the ground before the king; and ^(AF)the king kissed Absalom.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 Now it came about after this that ^(AG)Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men ^[q]to run ahead of him. ² And Absalom used to rise early and ^(AH)stand beside the road to the gate; and when any man who had a lawsuit was to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^(AI)your ^[r]claims are good and right, but you have no one to listen to you on the part of the king.” ⁴ Moreover, Absalom would say, “^(AJ)Oh that someone would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has a lawsuit or claim could come to me, and I would give him justice!” ⁵ And whenever a man approached to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and ^(AK)kiss him. ⁶ Absalom dealt this way with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^(AL)so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

⁷ Now it came about at the end of ^[s]four years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord, in ^(AM)Hebron. ⁸ For your servant ^(AN)made a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^(AO)If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” ⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^(AP)Absalom is king in Hebron!’” ¹¹ Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^(AQ)who were invited and ^(AR)went ^[t]innocently, for they did not know anything. ¹² And Absalom sent for ^(AS)Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^(AT)Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^(AU)the people continually increased with Absalom.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ Then a messenger came to David, saying, “^(AV)The hearts of the people of Israel are ^[u]with Absalom.” ¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “^(AW)Arise and let’s flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵ Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants will do whatever my lord the king chooses.” ¹⁶ So the king left, and all his household ^[v]with him; but ^(AX)the king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house. ¹⁷ The king left, and all the people ^[w]with him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸ Now all of his servants passed by beside him, and ^(AY)all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(AZ)six hundred men who had come ^[x]with him from Gath, passed by before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(BA)Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you go with us too? Return and stay with ^[y]your king, since you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today, while ^(BB)I go wherever I go? Return and take your brothers back; ^(BC)mercy and ^[z]truth be with you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^(BD)wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there assuredly shall your servant be!” ²² Then David said to Ittai, “Go and cross over the brook Kidron.” So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the ^[aa]little ones who were with him. ²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^(BE)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^(BF)the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ Now behold, ^(BG)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, ^(BH)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(BI)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ And the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then ^(BJ)He will bring me back and show me both it and ^(BK)His habitation. ²⁶ But if He says this: ‘^(BL)I have no delight in you,’ then here I am, ^(BM)let Him do to me as seems good ^[ab]to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^(BN)a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your ^(BO)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I am going to wait ^(BP)at the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and ^(BQ)his head was covered, and he was walking ^(BR)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone informed David, saying, “^(BS)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “Lord, please ^(BT)make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”

³² It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^(BU)Archite met him with his ^[ac]coat torn, and ^[ad]dust on his head. ³³ And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you will become ^(BV)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and ^(BW)say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father’s servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,’ then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that ^(BX)whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold ^(BY)their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^(BZ)by them you shall send me everything that you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(CA)David’s friend, came into the city, and ^(CB)Absalom came into Jerusalem.