The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 Now it was clear to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, that the king's heart was turning to Absalom.
1
4 Now Yoav Ben Tzeruyah perceived that the lev HaMelech was toward Avshalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and got from there a wise woman, and said to her, Now make yourself seem like one given up to grief, and put on the clothing of sorrow, not using any sweet oil for your body, but looking like one who for a long time has been weeping for the dead:
2
And Yoav sent to Tekoah, and brought from there an isha chachamah, and said unto her, now, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with shemen, but be as an isha that had a long time mourned for the dead;
3 And come to the king and say these words to him. So Joab gave her words to say.
3
And come to HaMelech, and speak on this manner unto him. So Yoav put the devarim in her peh (mouth).
4 And the woman of Tekoa came to the king, and falling on her face, gave him honour and said, Give me help, O king.
4
And when the isha of Tekoah spoke to HaMelech, she fell on her face to the ground, and prostrated herself, and said, Hoshi’ah (help), O Melech.
5 And the king said to her, What is your trouble? And her answer was, Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.
5
And HaMelech said unto her, What troubleth thee? She answered, I am indeed an almanah, and mine ish is dead.
6 And I had two sons, and the two of them had a fight in the field, and there was no one to come between them, and one with a blow put the other to death.
6
And thy shifchah had two banim, and they two fought together in the sadeh, and there was none to separate them, but the one struck the other, and killed him.
7 And now all the family is turned against me, your servant, saying, Give up him who was the cause of his brother's death, so that we may put him to death in payment for the life of his brother, whose life he took; and we will put an end to the one who will get the heritage: so they will put out my last burning coal, and my husband will have no name or offspring on the face of the earth.
7
And, hinei, kol hamishpakhah is risen against thine shifchah (handmaid), and they said, Deliver him that struck his brother, that we may kill him, for the nefesh of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the yoresh (heir) also; and so they shall quench my burning coal remaining, and shall not leave to my ish shem nor she’erit upon ha’adamah.
8 And the king said to the woman, Go to your house and I will give orders about this.
8
And HaMelech said to the isha, Go to thine bais; I will give charge concerning thee.
9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, may the sin be on me and on my family, and may the king and the seat of his kingdom be clear of sin!
9
And the isha of Tekoah said unto HaMelech, Adoni, O Melech, the avon (guilt) be on me, and on my bais avi; and HaMelech and his kisse be guiltless.
10 And the king said, If anyone says anything to you, make him come to me, and he will do you no more damage.
10
And HaMelech said, Whoever saith anything unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
11 Then she said, Let the king keep in mind the Lord your God, so that he who gives punishment for blood may be kept back from further destruction and that no one may send death on my son. And he said, By the living Lord, not a hair of your son's head will come to the earth.
11
Then said she, Now, let HaMelech remember Hashem Eloheicha, that thou wouldest not suffer the Go’el HaDahm to destroy any more, lest they destroy beni (my son). And he said, As Hashem liveth, there shall not one hair of thy ben fall to the ground.
12 Then the woman said, Will the king let his servant say one word more? And he said, Say on.
12
Then the isha said, Let thine shifchah, now, speak one word unto adoni Ha-Melech. And he said, Say on.
13 And the woman said, Why have you had such a thought about the people of God? (for in saying these very words the king has put himself in the wrong because he has not taken back the one whom he sent far away.)
13
And the isha said, why then hast thou thought such a thing against the Am Elohim? For HaMelech doth speak this thing as one which is guilty, in that HaMelech doth not bring back home again his banished.
14 For death comes to us all, and we are like water drained out on the earth, which it is not possible to take up again; and God will not take away the life of the man whose purpose is that he who has been sent away may not be completely cut off from him.
14
For we must needs die, are as mayim spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; yet Elohim doth not take away nefesh; but devises means, so that His banished be not expelled from Him.
15 And now it is my fear of the people which has made me come to say these words to my lord the king: and your servant said, I will put my cause before the king, and it may be that he will give effect to my request.
15
Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto adoni HaMelech, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy shifchah thought, I will now speak unto HaMelech; it may be that HaMelech will perform the request of his amah (servant).
16 For the king will give ear, and take his servant out of the power of the man whose purpose is the destruction of me and my son together from the heritage of God.
16
For HaMelech will hear, to deliver his amah (servant) out of the palm of the ish that would destroy me and beni (my son) together out of the nachalat Elohim.
17 Then your servant said, May the word of my lord the king give me peace! for my lord the king is as the angel of God in his hearing of good and bad: and may the Lord your God be with you!
17
Then thine shifchah said, The devar adoni HaMelech shall now be as menuchah (rest, comfort); for as a malach HaElohim, so is adoni HaMelech to discern the tov and the rah; therefore Hashem Eloheicha will be with thee.
18 Then the king said to the woman, Now give me an answer to the question I am going to put to you; keep nothing back. And the woman said, Let my lord the king say on.
18
Then HaMelech answered and said unto the isha, Hide not from me, now, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the isha said, Let adoni HaMelech now speak.
19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman in answer said, By the life of your soul, my lord the king, it is not possible for anyone to go to the right hand or to the left from anything said by the king: your servant Joab gave me orders, and put all these words in my mouth:
19
And HaMelech said, Is not the yad Yoav with thee in all this? And the isha answered and said, As thy nefesh liveth, adoni HaMelech, none can turn to the right or to the left from anything that adoni HaMelech hath spoken; for thy eved Yoav, he instructed me, and he put all these devarim in the peh (mouth) of thine shifchah (handmaid);
20 This he did, hoping that the face of this business might be changed: and my lord is wise, with the wisdom of the angel of God, having knowledge of everything on earth.
20
To bring about this matter for discussion hath thy eved Yoav done this thing; and adoni is chacham, according to the chochmat malach HaElohim, to know all things that are in ha’aretz.
21 And the king said to Joab, See now, I will do this thing: go then and Come back with the young man Absalom.
21
And HaMelech said unto Yoav, Hinei now, I have granted this thing; go therefore, bring the na’ar Avshalom back!
22 Then Joab, falling down on his face on the earth, gave the king honour and blessing; and Joab said, Today it is clear to your servant that I have grace in your eyes, my lord king, because the king has given effect to the request of his servant.
22
And Yoav fell to the ground on his face, and prostrated himself, and put a bracha on HaMelech; and Yoav said, Today thy eved knoweth that I have found chen in thy sight, adoni, O Melech, in that HaMelech hath fulfilled the request of his eved.
23 So Joab got up and went to Geshur and came back again to Jerusalem with Absalom.
23
So Yoav arose and went to Geshur, and brought Avshalom to Yerushalayim.
24 And the king said, Let him go to his house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom went back to his house and did not see the face of the king.
24
And HaMelech said, Let him turn to his own bais, and let him not see my face. So Avshalom returned to his own bais, and saw not the face of HaMelech.
25 Now in all Israel there was no one so greatly to be praised for his beautiful form as Absalom: from his feet to the crown of his head he was completely beautiful.
25
But in kol Yisroel there was none ish yafeh to be so much praised as Avshalom; from the sole of his regel even to the crown of his head there was no mum (blemish) in him.
26 And when he had his hair cut, (which he did at the end of every year, because of the weight of his hair;) the weight of the hair was two hundred shekels by the king's weight.
26
And when he cut the hair of his rosh, (for it was from time to time that he cut it; because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the se’ar (hair) of his rosh at two hundred shekels after the royal standard.
27 And Absalom was the father of three sons and of one daughter named Tamar, who was very beautiful.
27
And unto Avshalom there were born three banim, and one bat, whose shem was Tamar; she was an isha of a fair countenance.
28 For two full years Absalom was living in Jerusalem without ever seeing the face of the king.
28
So Avshalom dwelt two full shanim in Yerushalayim, and saw not the face of HaMelech.
29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.
29
Therefore Avshalom sent for Yoav, to have sent him to HaMelech; but he would not come to him; and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
30 So he said to his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley in it; go and put it on fire. And Absalom's servants put the field on fire.
30
Therefore he said unto his avadim, See, the allotted land of Yoav is near mine, and he hath se’orim (barley) there; go and kindle it with eish. And the avadim of Avshelom set eish to the allotted land.
31 Then Joab came to Absalom in his house and said to him, Why have your servants put my field on fire?
31
Then Yoav arose, and came to Avshalom unto his bais, and said unto him, Why have thy avadim set eish to my allotted land?
32 And Absalom's answer was, See, I sent to you saying, Come here, so that I may send you to the king to say, Why have I come back from Geshur? it would be better for me to be there still: let me now see the king's face, and if there is any sin in me, let him put me to death.
32
And Avshalom answered Yoav, Hinei, I sent unto thee, saying, Come here, that I may send thee to HaMelech, to say, why am I come from Geshur? It had been tov (better) for me to have been there still; now therefore let me see the face of HaMelech; and if there be any avon (iniquity) in me, let him kill me.
33 So Joab went to the king and said these words to him: and when the king had sent for him, Absalom came, and went down on his face on the earth before the king: and the king gave him a kiss.
33
So Yoav came to HaMelech, and told him; and when he had called for Avshalom, he came to HaMelech, and prostrated himself on his face to the ground before HaMelech; and HaMelech kissed Avshalom.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.