13
And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this word as one who is guilty in that the king does not bring home again his banished.
14
For it is certain that we die and
are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither does God respect
any person; yet he does devise means that his outcasts not be expelled from him.
15
Now, therefore, that I have come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. But thy handmaid said
to herself, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the word of his handmaid.
16
For 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.
17
Then thy handmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king bring rest; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil; and let the LORD thy God be with thee.
18
Then 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.
19
And the king said,
Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, By the life of thy soul, my lord the king, I can not turn to the right hand or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy slave Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid;
20
to bring about this form of speech thy slave Joab has done this thing; but my lord
is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know that which is
done in the earth.
21
Then the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing; go, therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
22
And Joab fell to the ground on his face and worshipped and blessed the king, and Joab said, Today thy slave knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the word of his slave.
23
So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.