2 Samuel 14

¹And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.

²And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead;

³and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth.

⁴And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king!

⁵And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.

⁶And thy bondmaid 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.

⁷And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.

⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

¹⁰And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

¹¹Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they cut off my son. And he said, [As] Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.