² So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, “Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself with oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for a long time.^{[a] 3} Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word.” Thus Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴ So the Tekoite woman spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance. She said, “Help me, O king!”