2 Samuel, Chapter 14:
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Verses from 2 Samuel, Chapter 14 of the book of 1 Samuel in the Bible.
Absalom returns to Jerusalem
- 1. Joab, son of Zeruiah, realized that the king missed Absalom,
- 2. then he sent for a cunning woman in Tekoa and said to her: “Pretend to be in mourning: dress in black and do not put on perfume. Behave like someone who has been grieving for a long time.
- 3. Go speak to the king with the words I will instruct you.”
- 4. When the woman presented herself before the king, she prostrated herself with her face to the ground, showing respect, and said: “Help me, O king!”
- 5. “What is the matter with you?” asked the king, and she replied: “I am a widow; my husband died,
- 6. and I was left with two children. They fought on the field, and there was no one to separate them. So, one ended up killing the other.
- 7. Now all the relatives rose up against me, demanding: 'Hand over the murderer so that we can kill him and get rid of the heir too.' They want to erase the last spark of hope that remains in my family, leaving my husband without a name and without descendants on earth.”
- 8. The king said to the woman, “Go home. I will take care of your case.”
- 9. But the woman of Tekoa said, “My lord, O King, the blame will fall on me and my father's family, not on the king and his throne.”
- 10. The king replied, “If anyone threatens you, bring him to me, and he will trouble you no more.”
- 11. She added: “I therefore ask the king, in the name of the Lord his God, not to allow the avenger of death to cause further destruction by killing my other son as well.” And the king said, “I swear by the name of the Lord that not one hair of your son will be touched.”
- 12. Then the woman said, “Allow your servant to say something to my lord the king.” “Speak,” replied the king.
- 13. She continued: “Why does the king act against God's people? With his words, the king is condemning himself, as he does not allow the banished man to return.
- 14. We will all die someday, like spilled water that cannot be collected from the earth. But God does not take life; he finds ways so that the banished does not remain excluded from him.
- 15. “And I came to speak to my lord the king, because the people threatened me. I thought that if I spoke to the king, maybe he would grant my request
- 16. and agree to deliver your servant from the hands of the man who is trying to eliminate me and my son from the inheritance that God has given us.
- 17. “And now your servant says: May the decision of the king, my lord, bring peace and rest to me, for the king, my lord, is like an angel of God, able to discern between good and evil. May the Lord your God be with the king!”
- 18. Then the king said to the woman, “Do not hide anything from me that I am going to ask.” “Speak, my lord,” replied the woman.
- 19. The king asked, “Joab is behind all this, isn’t he?” The woman replied: “I swear on your life, my lord, that no one can deviate from what the king says, whether to the right or to the left. Yes, it was your servant Joab who sent me to tell you all these things.
- 20. His servant Joab did this to change the situation. But you, my lord, are as wise as an angel of God, and nothing escapes you from what happens in the country.”
- 21. Then the king said to Joab, “Okay, I will do as you ask. Go and bring back young Absalom.”
- 22. Joab fell facedown on the ground, blessed the king and said, “Today your servant knows that the king means well, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”
- 23. Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
- 24. But the king said, “He will go to his own house and will not see my face.” So Absalom went home and did not see the king again.
- 25. Absalom was very handsome and there was no man in Israel so praised for his beauty. From head to toe there was no flaw in him.
- 26. Whenever his hair became heavy, he cut it and weighed it: it was two kilos and four hundred grams of hair, according to the royal standard.
- 27. Absalom had three sons and a daughter named Tamar, who was very beautiful.
- 28. Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king.
- 29. Then Absalom sent for Joab to take him to the king, but Joab refused to go. Absalom sent for him again, but he continued to refuse to go.
- 30. Then Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab's property is next to mine, and he has a field of barley. Set it on fire.” And Absalom's servants set fire to the plantation.
- 31. Then Joab went to Absalom's house and asked, “Why did your servants set fire to my field?”
- 32. Absalom replied, “I sent for him to send to the king with this message: 'Why did I return from Geshur? It would be better if I were still there! I want to be received by the king; and if I am guilty of anything, let him kill me.'”
- 33. Then Joab went and told the king everything, who sent for Absalom. Absalom entered and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king, who greeted him with a kiss.
