2Sa 14 | ABEn | STEP | And [ 4 knew 1 Joab 2 son 3 of Zeruiah] that the heart of the king was towards Absalom.

2 Samuel 14

CHAPTER 14 Joab's Plan to Return Absalom

1 And [⁴knew ¹Joab ²son ³of Zeruiah] that the heart of the king was towards Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and he took from there [²woman ¹a wise]. And he said to her, You mourn indeed, and put on [²garments ¹mournful], and do not anoint yourself with oil, and be as a woman [³days ²for many ¹mourning] for one having died! 3 And you shall come to the king, and you shall speak to him according to this thing. And Joab put the words into her mouth. 4 And [³entered ¹the ²Tekoahite woman] to the king, and she fell upon her face to the ground, and she did obeisance to him. And she said, Deliver, O king, deliver! 5 And [³said ⁴to ⁵her ¹the ²king], What to you is it? And she said, By all means [⁴woman ³a widow ¹I ²am], and [²died ¹my husband]. 6 And indeed to your maidservant are two sons, and they [²quarreled ¹both] in the field, and there was no one for rescuing between them, and [³hit ¹the ²one] [²one ³brother ¹his], and killed him. 7 And behold, [⁴rose up ²entire ¹the ³family] against your maidservant, and they said, Give over the one hitting his brother, and we shall kill him, on account of the life of his brother whom he killed; and we shall take away the heir. And so they shall extinguish my spark of coal, the one being left behind to me, so as to not establish to my husband a vestige and name upon the face of the earth. 8 And [³said ¹the ²king] to the woman, Go to your house being in health! and I will take charge concerning you. 9 And [⁴said ³woman ¹the ²Tekoahite] to the king, O my master, O king, upon me be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father! and the king and his throne be innocent! 10 And [³said ¹the ²king], The one speaking to you a word, lead him to me! and in no way shall anyone proceed yet to touch you. 11 And [³said ¹the ²woman], Let now [³remember ⁴indeed ¹the ²king] the lord your God! to multiply a relative for blood to utterly destroy, and in no way take away my son. And he said, As the lord lives, there shall not fall of the hair of your son upon the ground. 12 And [³said ¹the ²woman], Let [²speak ³indeed ¹your maidservant] to my master the king a thing! And he said, Speak! 13 And [³said ¹the ²woman], Why have you imputed thus upon the people of God? Yes, by [³speaking ¹the ²king] this word it is as a trespass, [³to not ⁴return ¹for the ²king] the one being thrust away by him. 14 For to death we shall die, and as the water being discharged upon the earth, not being gathered together; that [²not ¹God shall] take the life; yet he himself devises a device to not thrust away from him the one being thrusted away. 15 And now for which I came to speak to [²the ³king ¹my master] this word, for [³see ⁴me ¹the ²people]; and [³will say ²maidservant ¹your], Let [²speak ³indeed ¹your maidservant] to my master the king, if by any means [³shall do ¹the ²king] the matter of his maidservant; 16 for [³shall hear ¹the ²king] to rescue his maidservant from out of the hand of the man seeking to take me away, and my son, from the inheritance of God. 17 And said your maidservant, Let indeed the word of my master the king be as an accepted sacrifice. For as a messenger of God, thus is my master the king, to hear the good and the bad; and the lord your God will be with you. 18 And [³answered ¹the ²king] and said to the woman, You should not indeed hide from me the matter which ever I shall ask you. And [³said ¹the ²woman], Let [⁵speak ¹indeed ²my master ³the ⁴king]! 19 And [³said ¹the ²king], Is not the hand of Joab in all this with you? And [³answered ⁴and ⁵said ¹the ²woman] to the king, As [²lives ¹your soul], O my master, O king, since there is no turning to the right or to the left of all which [⁴spoke ¹my master ²the ³king], for your servant Joab himself gave charge to me, and he put [³in ⁴the ⁵mouth ⁶of your maidservant ¹all ²these words]. 20 So as for [⁴to come about ¹the ²face ³of this matter], [³prepared ²your servant ¹Joab] this thing. And my master the king is wise as the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all the things in the land. 21 And [³said ¹the ²king] to Joab, Behold, indeed I do to you according to [²your word ¹this]. Go return the young man Absalom! 22 And Joab fell upon his face upon the ground, and did obeisance, and blessed the king. And Joab said, Today [²knows ¹your servant] that he found favor in your eyes, O my master, O king, for [⁴did ¹my master ²the ³king] the matter for his servant.

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

23 And Joab rose up and went into Geshur, and he led Absalom into Jerusalem. 24 And [³said ¹the ²king], Let him return to his house, but [³my face ¹let him not ²see]! And Absalom returned to his house, but the face of the king he did not see. 25 And [³as ⁴Absalom ¹there was no ²man] in all Israel as [²praiseworthy ¹exceedingly]. From the sole of his foot and unto the top of his head -- there was not [²on ³him ¹a blemish]. 26 And in his shearing his head, and it took place at the end of days unto days that he sheared it, for it became burdensome upon him; and shearing, he set aside the hair of his head two hundred shekels of the [²scale-weight ¹royal]. 27 And there was born to Absalom three sons and [²daughter ¹one], and her name was Tamar, she was [³woman ²goodly ¹an exceedingly]. 28 And Absalom stayed in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he did not see. 29 And Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, and he did not want to come to him. And he sent again the second time to him, and he did not want to come.

Absalom Burns Joab's Field

30 And Absalom said to his servants, You know the portion in the field of Joab being next to mine, and to him is barley there. You go and burn it by fire! And [⁴burned ¹the ²servants ³of Absalom] by fire the portion of the field of Joab. 31 And Joab rose up, and came to Absalom, to the house, and said to him, Why did [²set on fire ¹your servants] my field with fire? 32 And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here! And I will send you to the king, saying, Why did I come from out of Geshur? [²good ³for me ¹It was] to be there. And now, I shall see indeed the face of the king, and if there is [²in ³me ¹iniquity] then I shall be killed. 33 And Joab went to the king, and reported to him. And he called Absalom, and he entered to the king, and he did obeisance to him and fell upon his face upon the ground before the king. And [³kissed ¹the ²king] Absalom.