¹ And it is declared to Joab, `Lo, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom;'

² and the salvation on that day becometh mourning to all the people, for the people hath heard on that day, saying, `The king hath been grieved for his son.'

³ And the people stealeth away, on that day, to go in to the city, as the people steal away, who are ashamed, in their fleeing in battle;

⁴ and the king hath covered his face, yea, the king crieth -- a loud voice -- `My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.'

⁵ And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, `Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,

⁶ to love thine enemies, and to hate those loving thee, for thou hast declared to-day that thou hast no princes and servants, for I have known to-day that if Absalom [were] alive, and all of us to-day dead, that then it were right in thine eyes.

⁷ `And now, rise, go out and speak unto the heart of thy servants, for by Jehovah I have sworn, that -- thou art not going out -- there doth not lodge a man with thee to-night; and this [is] worse for thee than all the evil that hath come upon thee from thy youth till now.'

⁸ And the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, `Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.

⁹ And it cometh to pass, all the people are contending through all the tribes of Israel, saying, `The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, yea, he himself delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he hath fled out of the land because of Absalom,

¹⁰ and Absalom whom we anointed over us [is] dead in battle, and now, why are ye silent -- to bring back the king?'

¹¹ And king David sent unto Zadok and unto Abiathar the priests, saying, `Speak ye unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye last to bring back the king unto his house? (and the word of all Israel hath come unto the king, unto his house;)

¹² my brethren ye [are], my bone and my flesh ye [are], and why are ye last to bring back the king?

¹³ And to Amasa say ye, Art not thou my bone and my flesh? Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add, if thou art not head of the host before me all the days instead of Joab.'

¹⁴ And he inclineth the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they send unto the king, `Turn back, thou, and all thy servants.'

¹⁵ And the king turneth back, and cometh in unto the Jordan, and Judah hath come to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan,

¹⁶ and Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite, who [is] from Bahurim, hasteth, and cometh down with the men of Judah, to meet king David,

¹⁷ and a thousand men [are] with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.

¹⁸ And passed over hath the ferry-boat to carry over the household of the king, and to do that which [is] good in his eyes, and Shimei son of Gera hath fallen before the king in his passing over into Jordan,

¹⁹ and saith unto the king, `Let not my lord impute to me iniquity; neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely in the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, -- for the king to set [it] unto his heart;

²⁰ for thy servant hath known that I have sinned; and lo, I have come to-day, first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.'

²¹ And Abishai son of Zeruiah answereth and saith, `For this is not Shimei put to death -- because he reviled the anointed of Jehovah?'

²² And David saith, `What -- to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah, that ye are to me to-day for an adversary? to-day is any man put to death in Israel? for have I not known that to-day I [am] king over Israel?'

²³ And the king saith unto Shimei, `Thou dost not die;' and the king sweareth to him.

²⁴ And Mephibosheth son of Saul hath come down to meet the king -- and he prepared not his feet, nor did he prepare his upper lip, yea, his garments he washed not, even from the day of the going away of the king, till the day that he came in peace --

²⁵ and it cometh to pass, when he hath come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king saith to him, `Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?'

²⁶ And he saith, `My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for thy servant said, I saddle for me the ass, and ride on it, and go with the king, for thy servant [is] lame;

²⁷ and he uttereth slander against thy servant unto my lord the king, and my lord the king [is] as a messenger of God; and do thou that which is good in thine eyes,

²⁸ for all the house of my father have been nothing except men of death before my lord the king, and thou dost set thy servant among those eating at thy table, and what right have I any more -- even to cry any more unto the king?'

²⁹ And the king saith to him, `Why dost thou speak any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba -- share ye the field.'

³⁰ And Mephibosheth saith unto the king, `Yea, the whole let him take, after that my lord the king hath come in peace unto his house.'

³¹ And Barzillai the Gileadite hath gone down from Rogelim, and passeth over the Jordan with the king, to send him away over the Jordan;

³² and Barzillai [is] very aged, a son of eighty years, and he hath sustained the king in his abiding in Mahanaim, for he [is] a very great man;

³³ and the king saith unto Barzillai, `Pass thou over with me, and I have sustained thee with me in Jerusalem.'

³⁴ And Barzillai saith unto the king, `How many [are] the days of the years of my life, that I go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵ A son of eighty years I [am] to-day; do I know between good and evil? doth thy servant taste that which I am eating, and that which I drink? do I hearken any more to the voice of singers and songstresses? and why is thy servant any more for a burden unto my lord the king?

³⁶ As a little thing, thy servant doth pass over the Jordan with the king, and why doth the king recompense me this recompense?

³⁷ Let, I pray thee, thy servant turn back again, and I die in mine own city, near the burying-place of my father and of my mother, -- and lo, thy servant Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do thou to him that which [is] good in thine eyes.'

³⁸ And the king saith, `With me doth Chimham go over, and I do to him that which [is] good in thine eyes, yea, all that thou dost fix on me I do to thee.'

³⁹ And all the people pass over the Jordan, and the king hath passed over, and the king giveth a kiss to Barzillai, and blesseth him, and he turneth back to his place.

⁴⁰ And the king passeth over to Gilgal, and Chimham hath passed over with him, and all the people of Judah, and they bring over the king, and also the half of the people of Israel.

⁴¹ And, lo, all the men of Israel are coming unto the king, and they say unto the king, `Wherefore have they stolen thee -- our brethren, the men of Judah?' (and they bring the king and his household over the Jordan, and all the men of David with him).

⁴² And all the men of Judah answer against the men of Israel, `Because the king [is] near unto us, and why [is] this -- ye are displeased about this matter? have we at all eaten of the king's [substance?] a gift hath he lifted up to us?'

⁴³ And the men of Israel answer the men of Judah, and say, `Ten parts we have in the king, and also in David more than you; and wherefore have ye lightly esteemed us, that our word hath not been first to bring back our king?' And the word of the men of Judah is sharper than the word of the men of Israel.

¹ And Joab son of Zeruial knoweth that the heart of the king [is] on Absalom,

² and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, `Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead,

³ and thou hast gone unto the king, and spoken unto him, according to this word;' and Joab putteth the words into her mouth.

⁴ And the woman of Tekoah speaketh unto the king, and falleth on her face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith, `Save, O king.'

⁵ And the king saith to her, `What -- to thee?' and she saith, `Truly a widow woman [am] I, and my husband dieth,

⁶ and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death;

⁷ and lo, the whole family hath risen against thy maid-servant, and say, Give up him who smiteth his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he hath slain, and we destroy also the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left -- so as not to set to my husband a name and remnant on the face of the ground.'

⁸ And the king saith unto the woman, `Go to thine house, and I give charge concerning thee.'

⁹ And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, `On me, my lord, O king, [is] the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne [are] innocent.'

¹⁰ And the king saith, `He who speaketh [aught] unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.'

¹¹ And she saith, `Let, I pray thee, the king remember by Jehovah thy God, that the redeemer of blood add not to destroy, and they destroy not my son;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth; if there doth fall of the hair of thy son to the earth.'

¹² And the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, `speak.'

¹³ And the woman saith, `And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast;

¹⁴ for we do surely die, and [are] as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.

¹⁵ `And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,

¹⁶ for the king doth hearken to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man [seeking] to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God,

¹⁷ and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so [is] my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'

¹⁸ And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, `Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'

¹⁹ And the king saith, `Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, `Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none [doth turn] to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words;

²⁰ in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that [is] in the land.'

²¹ And the king saith unto Joab, `Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.'

²² And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, `To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'

²³ And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem,

²⁴ and the king saith, `Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen.

²⁵ And like Absalom there was no man [so] fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him;

²⁶ and in his polling his head -- and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth [it], for it [is] heavy on him, and he hath polled it -- he hath even weighed out the hair of his head -- two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

²⁷ And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name [is] Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.

²⁸ And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen;

²⁹ and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come.

³⁰ And he saith unto his servants, `See, the portion of Joab [is] by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.

³¹ And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, `Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'

³² And Absalom saith unto Joab, `Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I Come in from Geshur? -- good for me while I [am] there -- and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'

³³ And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth [it] to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.