2 Samuel 14:1-20 (New American Standard)

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The Woman of Tekoa

1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that ¹the king's heart was inclined toward Absalom. 2 So Joab sent to ²Tekoa and ^abrought a wise woman from there and said to her, "Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments now, and do not ³anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead many days ; 3 then go to the king and speak to him in this manner." So Joab put ⁴the words in her mouth. 4 Now when the woman of Tekoa ^bspoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and ⁵prostrated herself and said, "⁶Help, O king." 5 The king said to her, "What is your trouble?" And she ^canswered, "Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead. 6 "Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled together in the field, and there was no ^done to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him. 7 "Now behold, ⁷the whole family has risen against your maidservant, and they say, 'Hand over the one who struck his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, ⁸and destroy the heir also.' Thus they will extinguish my coal which is left, so as to ^eleave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth." 8 Then the king said to the woman, "Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you." 9 The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "O my lord, the king, ⁹the iniquity is on me and my father's house, but ¹⁰the king and his throne are guiltless." 10 So the king said, "Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore ." 11 Then she said, "Please let the king remember the LORD your God, ¹¹so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son." And he said, "¹²As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground." 12 Then the woman said, "Please let your maidservant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak." 13 The woman said, "¹³Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God ? For in speaking this word the king is as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back ¹⁴his banished one. 14 "For ¹⁵we will surely die and are ¹⁶like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but plans ^fways so that ¹⁷the banished one will not be cast out from him. 15 "Now ^gthe reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid ; so your maidservant said, 'Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the ^hrequest of his maidservant. 16 'For the king will hear ⁱand deliver his maidservant from the ^jhand of the man who would destroy ^kboth me and my son from ¹⁸the inheritance of God.' 17 "Then your maidservant said, 'Please let the word of my lord the king be ^lcomforting, for as ¹⁹the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.' " 18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak." 19 So the king said, "Is the hand of Joab with you in all this ?" And the woman replied, "As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was ²⁰your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant ; 20 in order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, ²¹like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is in the earth."

<< 2 Samuel 13:39 2 Samuel 14:1-20 2 Samuel 14:21 >>

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New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved. (New American Standard Version - Holy Bible)

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