| King James Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom. | 1Meanwhile, Zeruiah's son Joab knew that the king's attention was focused on Absalom, |
| 2And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: | 2so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, "Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who's been in mourning for the dead for many days. |
| 3And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. | 3Then go to the king and speak to him like this…" Then Joab told her what to say. |
| 4And 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. | 4When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, prostrating herself to address him, "Help, your majesty!" |
| 5And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. | 5The king asked her, "What's your problem?" "I've been a widowed woman ever since my husband died," she answered. |
| 6And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. | 6"Your humble servant used to have two sons, but they got into a fight out in the field. Because there was no one to keep them apart, one of them attacked the other and killed him. |
| 7And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. | 7Now please pay attention closely! My whole family is attacking your humble servant! They're saying, 'Turn over the one who attacked his brother and we'll put him to death in retribution for his brother, whose life he took. That way, we'll kill the heir also!' They're going to extinguish the only light left in my family, leaving my late husband neither an ongoing name nor a survivor on the face of the earth!" |
| 8And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee. | 8Then the king replied to the woman, "Go home and I'll issue a special order just for you." |
| 9And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless. | 9But the woman from Tekoa told the king, "Your majesty, let any guilt for this be on me and on my ancestors' household, and not on my king or his throne!" |
| 10And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. | 10The king replied, "Bring anyone who talks to you about this to me, and he certainly won't be bothering you anymore!" |
| 11Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. | 11Then she said, "Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don't do any more damage! Otherwise, they'll destroy my son!" So he promised, "As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground!" |
| 12Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. | 12At this, the woman responded, "Would your majesty the king please allow your humble servant to say one more thing?" "Say it…" he replied. |
| 13And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. | 13"Why, then," the woman asked, "are you planning to act just like this against God's people? Based on what your majesty has said, you're acting like one who is guilty himself, because you're not bringing back the one whom you've banished! |
| 14For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. | 14After all, even though we all die, and we're all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn't take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged. |
| 15Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid. | 15"Now as to why I've come to speak with your majesty the king, it's because the people have made me afraid, so your humble servant told herself, 'I'll go speak to the king, so perhaps the king will do what his humble servant has requested. |
| 16For 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. | 16Perhaps the king will listen and deliver his humble servant from the oppression of the man who intends to eliminate both me and my son from what God has apportioned to us!' |
| 17Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee. | 17"So your humble servant is saying, 'Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.'" |
| 18Then 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. | 18In reply, the king asked the woman, "Please don't conceal anything about which I'm going to be asking you now." So the woman replied, "Please, your majesty, let the king speak." |
| 19And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: | 19Then the king asked, "Is Joab behind all of this with you?" "As your soul lives, your majesty, the king," the woman answered, "no one can divert anything left or right from what your majesty the king has spoken! As a matter of fact, it was your servant Joab! He was there, giving me precise orders about everything that your humble servant was to say. Your servant Joab did this, |
| 20To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth. | 20intending to change the outcome of this matter. Nevertheless, your majesty is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to be aware of everything that's going on throughout the earth." |
| 21And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. | 21Then the king addressed Joab, "Look! I'll do this thing that you've requested. Go bring back the young man Absalom." |
| 22And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. | 22At this, Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrating himself to bless the king, and then said, "Today your servant realizes that he's found favor with you, your majesty, in that the king has acted on the request of his servant." |
| 23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. | 23Then Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. |
| 24And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. | 24Nevertheless, the king said, "Let him return to his own home and not show his face to me." So Absalom returned to his own home and did not show his face to the king. |
| 25But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. | 25Now throughout all of Israel no one was as handsome as Absalom or so highly praised, from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there wasn't a single thing wrong about him. |
| 26And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. | 26Whenever he cut his hair —he cut it at the end of every year, because it grew thick on his head, which is why he cut it—his hair weighed in at 200 shekels measured by the royal standard. |
| 27And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance. | 27Absalom fathered three sons and one daughter, whom he named Tamar. She was a beautiful woman, both in form and appearance. |
| 28So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face. | 28Meanwhile, Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but never saw the king's face. |
| 29Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. | 29After this, Absalom sent for Joab, intending to send him to the king, but Joab would not come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but he still would not come. |
| 30Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. | 30So Absalom told his servants, "Observe that Joab's grain field lies next to mine. He has barley planted there. Go set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set the field on fire. |
| 31Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire? | 31At this, Joab got up, went to Absalom's home, and demanded of him, "Why did your servants set fire to my grain field?" |
| 32And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me. | 32In answer to Joab, Absalom replied, "Look, I sent for you, telling you 'Come here so I can send you to the king to ask him "What's the point in moving here from Geshur? I would have been better off to have remained there!"' So let me see the king's face, and if I'm guilty of anything, let him execute me!" |
| 33So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom. | 33So when Joab approached the king and told him what Absalom had said, he summoned Absalom, who then came to the king and fell to the ground on his face in front of him. Then the king kissed Absalom. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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