Joab's Scheme for Absalom's Return

141 And Joab son of Zeruial knoweth that the heart of the king 'is' on Absalom, 2 and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, 'Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead, 3 and thou hast gone unto the king, and spoken unto him, according to this word;' and Joab putteth the words into her mouth. 4 And the woman of Tekoah speaketh unto the king, and falleth on her face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith, 'Save, O king.' 5 And the king saith to her, 'What—to thee?' and she saith, 'Truly a widow woman 'am' I, and my husband dieth, 6 and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death; 7 and lo, the whole family hath risen against thy maid-servant, and say, Give up him who smiteth his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he hath slain, and we destroy also the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left—so as not to set to my husband a name and remnant on the face of the ground.' 8 And the king saith unto the woman, 'Go to thine house, and I give charge concerning thee.' 9 And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, 'On me, my lord, O king, 'is' the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne 'are' innocent.' 10 And the king saith, 'He who speaketh 'aught' unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.' 11 And she saith, 'Let, I pray thee, the king remember by Jehovah thy God, that the redeemer of blood add not to destroy, and they destroy not my son;' and he saith, 'Jehovah liveth; if there doth fall of the hair of thy son to the earth.' 12 And the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, 'Speak.' 13 And the woman saith, 'And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast; 14 for we do surely die, and 'are' as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him. 15 'And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, 'it is' because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid, 16 for the king doth hearken to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man 'seeking' to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God, 17 and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so 'is' my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.' 18 And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, 'Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.' 19 And the king saith, 'Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, 'Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none 'doth turn' to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words; 20 in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord 'is' wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that 'is' in the land.'

21 And the king saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.' 22 And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, 'To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.' 23 And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem, 24 and the king saith, 'Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen. 25 And like Absalom there was no man 'so' fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him; 26 and in his polling his head—and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth 'it', for it 'is' heavy on him, and he hath polled it—he hath even weighed out the hair of his head—two hundred shekels by the king's weight. 27 And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name 'is' Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.

28 And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen; 29 and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come. 30 And he saith unto his servants, 'See, the portion of Joab 'is' by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire. 31 And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, 'Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?' 32 And Absalom saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur?—good for me while I 'am' there—and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.' 33 And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth 'it' to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.

31 And the war is long between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David is going on and 'is' strong, and the house of Saul are going on and 'are' weak.

David's Sons Born at Hebron

2 And there are born to David sons in Hebron, and his first-born is Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 3 and his second 'is' Chileab, of Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite, and the third 'is' Absalom son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, 4 and the fourth 'is' Adonijah son of Haggith, and the fifth 'is' Shephatiah son of Abital, 5 and the sixth 'is' Ithream, of Eglah wife of David; these have been born to David in Hebron.

Abner Plans a League with David

6 And it cometh to pass, in the war being between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner hath been strengthening himself in the house of Saul,

7 and Saul hath a concubine, and her name 'is' Rizpah daughter of Aiah, and 'Ish-Bosheth' saith unto Abner, 'Wherefore hast thou gone in unto the concubine of my father?' 8 And it is displeasing to Abner exceedingly, because of the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he saith, 'The head of a dog 'am' I—that in reference to Judah to-day I do kindness with the house of Saul thy father, unto his brethren, and unto his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David—that thou chargest against me iniquity concerning the woman to-day? 9 thus doth God to Abner, and thus He doth add to him, surely as Jehovah hath sworn to David—surely so I do to him: 10 to cause the kingdom to pass over from the house of Saul, and to raise up the throne of David over Israel, and over Judah, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba.' 11 And he is not able any more to turn back Abner a word, because of his fearing him. 12 And Abner sendeth messengers unto David for himself, saying, 'Whose 'is' the land?' saying, 'Make thy covenant with me, and lo, my hand 'is' with thee, to bring round unto thee all Israel.' 13 And he saith, 'Good—I make with thee a covenant; only, one thing I am asking of thee, that is, Thou dost not see my face, except thou dost first bring in Michal, daughter of Saul in thy coming into see my face.' 14 And David sendeth messengers unto Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, saying, 'Give up my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself with a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.' 15 And Ish-Bosheth sendeth, and taketh her from a man, from Phaltiel son of Laish, 16 and her husband goeth with her, going on and weeping behind her, unto Bahurim, and Abner saith unto him, 'Go, turn back;' and he turneth back. 17 And the word of Abner was with the elders of Israel, saying, 'Heretofore ye have been seeking David for king over you, 18 and now, do 'it', for Jehovah hath spoken of David saying, By the hand of David my servant—to save My people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.' 19 And Abner speaketh also in the ears of Benjamin, and Abner goeth also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that 'is' good in the eyes of Israel, and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin, 20 and Abner cometh in unto David, to Hebron, and with him twenty men, and David maketh for Abner, and for the men who 'are' with him, a banquet. 21 And Abner saith unto David, 'I arise, and go, and gather unto my lord the king the whole of Israel, and they make with thee a covenant, and thou hast reigned over all that thy soul desireth;' and David sendeth away Abner, and he goeth in peace.

Joab Kills Abner

22 And lo, the servants of David, and Joab, have come from the troop, and much spoil have brought with them, and Abner is not with David in Hebron, for he hath sent him away, and he goeth in peace; 23 and Joab and all the host that 'is' with him have come, and they declare to Joab, saying, 'Abner son of Ner hath come unto the king, and he sendeth him away, and he goeth in peace.' 24 And Joab cometh unto the king, and saith, 'What hast thou done? lo, Abner hath come unto thee! why 'is' this—thou hast sent him away, and he is really gone? 25 Thou hast known Abner son of Ner, that to deceive thee he came, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou art doing.' 26 And Joab goeth out from David, and sendeth messengers after Abner, and they bring him back from the well of Sirah, and David knew not. 27 And Abner turneth back to Hebron, and Joab turneth him aside unto the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smiteth him there in the fifth 'rib'—and he dieth—for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 And David heareth afterwards and saith, 'Acquitted 'am' I, and my kingdom, by Jehovah, unto the age, from the blood of Abner son of Ner; 29 it doth stay on the head of Joab, and on all the house of his father, and there is not cut off from the house of Joab one having an issue, and leprous, and laying hold on a staff, and falling by a sword, and lacking bread.' 30 And Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner because that he put to death Asahel their brother, in Gibeon, in battle. 31 And David saith unto Joab, and unto all the people who 'are' with him, 'Rend your garments, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner;' and king David is going after the bier. 32 And they bury Abner in Hebron, and the king lifteth up his voice, and weepeth at the grave of Abner, and all the people weep; 33 and the king lamenteth for Abner, and saith:—'As the death of a fool doth Abner die? 34 Thy hands not bound, And thy feet to fetters not brought nigh! As one falling before sons of evil—Thou hast fallen!' and all the people add to weep over him. 35 And all the people come to cause David to eat bread while yet day, and David sweareth, saying, 'Thus doth God to me, and thus He doth add, for—before the going in of the sun, I taste no bread or any other thing.' 36 And all the people have discerned 'it', and it is good in their eyes, as all that the king hath done is good in the eyes of all the people; 37 and all the people know, even all Israel, in that day, that it hath not been from the king—to put to death Abner son of Ner. 38 And the king saith unto his servants, 'Do ye not know that a prince and a great one hath fallen this day in Israel? 39 and I to-day 'am' tender, and an anointed king: and these men, sons of Zeruiah, 'are' too hard for me; Jehovah doth recompense to the doer of the evil according to his evil.'