14 Forsooth Joab, the son of Zeruiah, understood, that the heart of the king was turned to(ward) Absalom;

² and he sent to Tekoah, and took from thence a wise woman, and he said to her, Feign thee to mourn, and be thou clothed with a cloak of dole, and be thou not anointed with oil, that thou be as a woman by mourning now in full much time a dead man (so that thou be like a woman now after a great deal of time mourning for her husband).

³ And thou shalt enter to the king, and thou shalt speak to him such manner words. And Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴ Therefore when the woman of Tekoah had entered to the king, she felled before him on the earth, and worshipped, and said, O! king, keep thou me. (And so when the woman from Tekoah had entered before the king, she fell on the ground before him, and honoured him, and said, O! king, help thou me.)

⁵ And the king said to her, What hast thou of cause? And she answered, Alas! I am a woman widow, for mine husband is dead; (And the king said to her, What is thy problem? And she answered, Alas! I am a widow woman, for my husband is dead;)

⁶ and twain sons were of thine handmaid, which debated against themselves in the field, and none was that might forbid them, and the one smote the tother, and killed him. (and thy servantess had two sons, who raged against each other out in the field, and no one could separate them, and one of them struck the other, and killed him.)

⁷ And lo! all the kindred riseth against thine handmaid, and saith, Give thou him to us that killed his brother, that we slay him, for the life of his brother whom he killed, and that we do away the heir; and they seek to quench my spark that is left, that the name dwell not to mine husband, and that remnants be not to him on earth. (And lo! all the kinsmen riseth against thy servantess, and saith, Give thou to us he who killed his brother, so that we can kill him for taking his brother’s life, and so that we can do away the heir; yea, they seek to quench what is left of my spark, so that my husband’s name not remain, and that there be no remnant of him left here on the earth.)

⁸ And the king said to the woman, Go into thine house, and I shall (give a) command for thee.

⁹ And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord the king, this wickedness be on me, and on the house of my father; forsooth (let) the king and his throne be innocent/be guiltless.

¹⁰ And the king said, Bring thou him to me, that against-saith thee, and he shall no more add to (it,) that he touch thee.

¹¹ And she said, The king have mind on his Lord God, and the next (kins)men of blood to take vengeance be not multiplied, and they shall not slay my son. And the king said, The Lord liveth, for none of the hairs of thy son shall fall upon the earth. (And she said, May the king pray to the Lord his God, that the kinsmen who be next of blood, and who desire vengeance, be not able to take it, and so they shall not kill my son. And the king said, As the Lord liveth, none of the hairs of thy son shall fall on the ground!)

¹² Therefore the woman said, Thine handmaid speak a word to my lord the king (And the woman said, May thy servantess speak a word to my lord the king?). And the king said, Speak thou.

¹³ And the woman said, Why hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? and the king spake this word, that he do sin, and bring not again his son (who is) cast out? (And the woman said, Why then hast thou done this same thing against the people of God? and so by speaking this word, the king hath sinned, for he hath not brought back his own son who is cast out.)

¹⁴ All we die, and as waters that shall not turn again, we slide into the earth; and God will not that a soul perish, but he withdraweth, and thinketh, lest he perish utterly, which is cast away. (We shall all die, and we shall slide into the earth, like water that shall not return; but God desireth that no soul perish, but he withdraweth, and thinketh, lest he, who is cast away, utterly perish.)

¹⁵ Now therefore come thou, that I speak to my lord the king this word, while the people is present; and thine handmaid said, I shall speak to the king, if in any manner the king do the word of his handmaid. (And so now, I have come that I may speak of this thing to my lord the king, because the people have threatened me; and so thy servantess said to herself, I shall speak to the king, if by any chance the king will do what I request.)

¹⁶ And the king heard the words, that he should deliver his handmaid from the hands of all men, that would do away me, and my son together, from the heritage of the Lord. (And for the king to hear these words, so that he might deliver his servantess from the hands of all those who would do away me, and my son, from the Lord’s inheritance.)

¹⁷ Therefore thine handmaid say, that the word of my lord the king be made as sacrifice, that is, that the sentence given of him be pleasant to God, as sacrifice pleaseth God (And so thy servantess said to herself, that the words of my lord the king would be like a sacrifice, that is, that his judgement would be pleasing to God, like a sacrifice pleaseth God); for as an angel of the Lord, so is my lord the king, that he be not moved by blessing neither by cursing. Wherefore and thy Lord God is with thee.

¹⁸ And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide thou not from me the word which I ask thee (Hide thou not from me what I ask thee). And the woman said to him, Speak thou, my lord the king.

¹⁹ And the king said, Whether the hand of Joab is with thee in all these things? The woman answered, and said, By the health of thy soul, my lord the king, neither to the left side neither to the right side is anything of all these things, which my lord the king hath spoken. For thy servant Joab himself commanded to me, and he putted all these words into the mouth of thine handmaid,

²⁰ that I should turn the figure of this word (so that I might help straighten out this matter); for thy servant Joab commanded this thing. Forsooth thou, my lord the king, art wise, as an angel of God that hath wisdom, that thou understand all things on (the) earth.

²¹ And (later,) the king said to Joab, Lo! I am pleased, and I have done thy word; therefore go thou, and again-call thou the child Absalom. (And later, the king said to Joab, Lo! I grant thy request; go thou, and bring back the young man Absalom.)

²² And Joab felled upon his face to the earth, and he worshipped, and blessed the king; and Joab said, Thy servant hath understood today, that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord (the) king, for thou hast done the word of thy servant. (And Joab fell down on the ground, or the floor, and he honoured the king, and blessed him; and Joab said, Thy servant knoweth today, that I have found favour in thine eyes, my lord the king, for thou hast granted my request.)

²³ Therefore Joab rose up, and went into Geshur, and brought Absalom into Jerusalem. (And so Joab rose up, and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.)

²⁴ And the king said, Turn he again into his house, and see not he my face. Therefore Absalom turned again into his house, and saw not the face of the king. (And the king said, Go he back to his own house, for he shall not come before me, or into my presence. And so Absalom returned to his own house, and did not come before the king.)

²⁵ Soothly no man in all Israel was so fair as Absalom, and full comely; from the step of the foot unto the top, there was no wem in him (there was no flaw, or blemish, on him);

²⁶ and inasmuch as he clipped more his hairs, by so much the more they waxed; but he was clipped once in the year, for his hair grieved him. And when he clipped the hairs, he weighed the hairs of his head by two hundred shekels by common weight (And when he cut his hair, the hairs of his head weighed two hundred shekels by common weight).

²⁷ And three sons, and a daughter, Tamar by name, (and she was) of seemly shape, or excellent form, were born to Absalom.

²⁸ And Absalom dwelled in Jerusalem two years, and he saw not the face of the king. (And Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never came before the king.)

²⁹ Therefore he sent to Joab, that he should send him to the king; and Joab would not come to him. And when he had sent the second time, and Joab would not come, (And so he sent for Joab, so that he could take a message to the king; but Joab would not come to him. And when he had sent for him a second time, and Joab would still not come,)

³⁰ Absalom said to his servants, Ye know the field of Joab beside my field, (the field of his) having ripe barley; therefore go ye, and burn ye it [up] with fire. Therefore the servants of Absalom burnt the (barley) corn with fire. (Absalom said to his servants, Ye know Joab’s field beside my field, the one with the ripe barley; go ye, and burn it down. And so Absalom’s servants burned down the crop.)

³¹ And Joab rose up, and came to Absalom into his house, and said, Why have thy servants burnt [up] my (barley) corn with fire? (And Joab rose up, and came to Absalom at his house, and said, Why have thy servants burned down my crop?)

³² And Absalom answered to Joab, I sent to thee, and besought that thou shouldest come to me, and that I should send thee to the king, that thou shouldest say to him, Why came I from Geshur? It was better to me to have been there; therefore I beseech, that I see the face of the king, that if he is mindful of my wickedness, slay he me. (And Absalom answered to Joab, I sent for thee, and desired that thou wouldest come to me, so that I could send thee to the king, and thou couldest say to him for me, Why did I come back from Geshur? It was better for me to have stayed there; and so I beseech thee, let me go before the king, and if he thinketh on my wickedness, then let him kill me.)

³³ (So) Joab entered to the king, and told to him. And Absalom was called, and he entered to the king, and he worshipped on the face of [the] earth before him (and honouring him, he bowed low to the ground before him), and the king kissed Absalom.