1Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom . 2And Joab sent to Tekoah , and fetched thence a wise woman , and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner , and put on now mourning apparel , and anoint not thyself with oil , but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead : 3And come to the king , and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth . 4And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king , she fell on her face to the ground , and did obeisance , and said , Help , O king . 5And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered , I am indeed a widow woman , and mine husband is dead . 6And thy handmaid had two sons , and they two strove together in the field , and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other , and slew him. 7And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid , and they said , Deliver him that smote his brother , that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew ; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left , and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth . 8And the king said unto the woman , Go to thine house , and I will give charge concerning thee. 9And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king , My lord , O king , the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house : and the king and his throne be guiltless . 10And the king said , Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more . 11Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God , that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more , lest they destroy my son . And he said , As the LORD liveth , there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth . 12Then the woman said , Let thine handmaid , I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king . And he said , Say on . 13And the woman said , Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God ? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty , in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished . 14For we must needs die , and are as water spilt on the ground , which cannot be gathered up again ; neither doth God respect any person : yet doth he devise means , that his banished be not expelled from him. 15Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king , it is because the people have made me afraid : and thy handmaid said , I will now speak unto the king ; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid . 16For the king will hear , to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God . 17Then thine handmaid said , The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable : for as an angel of God , so is my lord the king to discern good and bad : therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee. 18Then the king answered and said unto the woman , Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said , Let my lord the king now speak . 19And the king said , Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said , As thy soul liveth , my lord the king , none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken : for thy servant Joab , he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid : 20To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing : and my lord is wise , according to the wisdom of an angel of God , to know all things that are in the earth . 21And the king said unto Joab , Behold now, I have done this thing : go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again . 22And Joab fell to the ground on his face , and bowed himself, and thanked the king : and Joab said , To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight , my lord , O king , in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant . 23So Joab arose and went to Geshur , and brought Absalom to Jerusalem . 24And the king said , Let him turn to his own house , and let him not see my face . So Absalom returned to his own house , and saw not the king’s face .
Absalom's Restoration and David's Response
25But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty : from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26And when he polled his head , (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight . 27And unto Absalom there were born three sons , and one daughter , whose name was Tamar : she was a woman of a fair countenance . 28So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem , and saw not the king’s face . 29Therefore Absalom sent for Joab , to have sent him to the king ; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time , he would not come . 30Therefore he said unto his servants , See , Joab’s field is near mine , and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire . And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire . 31Then Joab arose , and came to Absalom unto his house , and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire ? 32And Absalom answered Joab , Behold, I sent unto thee, saying , Come hither, that I may send thee to the king , to say , Wherefore am I come from Geshur ? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face ; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me. 33So Joab came to the king , and told him: and when he had called for Absalom , he came to the king , and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king : and the king kissed Absalom .