2 Samuel 14:4

4 When the woman from Tekoa came^[a] 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 to bring a clever woman from there. He told her, "Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don't put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

3 Go to the king and speak these words to him." Then Joab told her exactly what to say.

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!"

5 "What's the matter?" the king asked her. "To tell the truth, I am a widow; my husband died," she said.

6 "Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

Footnotes

• [a] Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; other Hb mss read spoke