2 Samuel 14:4

4 When the woman from Tekoa went^[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

2 Samuel 14:4 in Other Translations

4 And 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.

4 When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, "Save me, O king."

4 When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”

4 The woman of Tekoa went to the king, bowed deeply before him in homage, and said, "O King, help!"

4 When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell with her face to the ground in homage and said, "Help me, my king!"

2 Samuel 14:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 14:4

And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king
Or after she had spoken to him, being introduced by Joab, as is probable; when she had saluted him with God save the king, or May the king live, or some such like expressions:

she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance;
to him as her king, in reverence of his majesty:

and said, help, O king;
signifying that she was in great distress, and came to him for assistance and deliverance.

2 Samuel 14:4 In-Context

2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.

3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.

6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him.

Footnotes

• [a]. Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts "spoke"