Absalom Returns

2 Samuel 14:1-33; 15:1-13

Bible Stories

2 Samuel 14:1 Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, understood that the heart of the king had been turned toward Absalom,

2 Samuel 14:2 so he sent to Tekoa, and he brought from there a wise woman. And he said to her: “Feign that you are in mourning, and put on the clothing of one who mourns. And do not anoint yourself with oil, so that you may be like a woman who is still grieving for someone who died some time ago.

2 Samuel 14:3 And you shall enter to the king, and you shall speak words to him in this manner.” Then Joab put the words in her mouth.

2 Samuel 14:4 And so, when the woman of Tekoa had entered to the king, she fell before him on the ground, and she reverenced, and she said, “Save me, O king.”

2 Samuel 14:5 And the king said to her, “What problem do you have?” And she responded: “Alas, I am a woman who is a widow. For my husband has died.

2 Samuel 14:6 And your handmaid had two sons. And they quarreled against one another in the field. And there was no one there who would be able to stop them. And one struck the other, and killed him.

2 Samuel 14:7 And behold, the whole family, rising up against your handmaid, said: ‘Deliver him who struck down his brother, so that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he killed, and so that we may do away with the heir.’ And they are seeking to extinguish my spark that is left, so that there may not survive a name for my husband, nor a remnant upon the earth.”

2 Samuel 14:8 And the king said to the woman, “Go to your own house, and I will make a decree on your behalf.”

2 Samuel 14:9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king: “May the iniquity be upon me, my lord, and upon the house of my father. But may the king and his throne be innocent.”

2 Samuel 14:10 And the king said, “Whoever will contradict you, bring him to me, and he will never touch you again.”

2 Samuel 14:11 And she said, “Let the king remember the Lord his God, so that close blood relatives may not be multiplied in order to take revenge, and so that they may by no means kill my son.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair from your son shall fall to the ground.”

2 Samuel 14:12 Then the woman said, “Let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”

2 Samuel 14:13 And the woman said: “Why have you thought such a thing against the people of God, and why has the king spoken this word, so that he sins and does not lead back the one whom he rejected?

2 Samuel 14:14 We are all dying, and we are all like waters that flow into the ground and do not return. God does not will to lose a soul. Instead, he renews his efforts, thinking that what has been rejected might not perish altogether.

2 Samuel 14:15 Therefore, now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, in the presence of the people. And your handmaid said: I will speak to the king, for perhaps there may be some way for the king to accomplish the word of his handmaid.

2 Samuel 14:16 And the king listened, and he freed his handmaid from the hand of all who were willing to take away me and my son together, from the inheritance of God.

2 Samuel 14:17 Therefore, let your handmaid speak, so that the word of my lord the king may be like a sacrifice. For even like an Angel of God, so is my lord the king, so that he is moved by neither a blessing, nor a curse. Then too, the Lord your God is with you.”

2 Samuel 14:18 And in response, the king said to the woman, “You shall not conceal from me a word of what I ask you.” And the woman said to him, “Speak, my lord the king.”

2 Samuel 14:19 And the king said, “Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said: “By the welfare of your soul, my lord the king, it is neither to the left, nor to the right, in all these things that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab himself instructed me, and he himself placed all these words in the mouth of your handmaid.

2 Samuel 14:20 Thus did I turn to this figure of speech, because your servant Joab instructed it. But you, my lord the king, are wise, just as an Angel of God has wisdom, so that you understand all that is upon the earth.”

2 Samuel 14:21 And the king said to Joab: “Behold, your word has succeeded in appeasing me. Therefore, go and call back the boy Absalom.”

2 Samuel 14:22 And falling to the ground upon his face, Joab reverenced, and he blessed the king. And Joab said: “Today your servant has understood that I have found grace in your sight, my lord the king. For you have accomplished the word of your servant.”

2 Samuel 14:23 Then Joab rose up, and he went away to Geshur. And he brought Absalom into Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 14:24 But the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but let him not see my face.” And so, Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the face of the king.

2 Samuel 14:25 Now in all of Israel, there was no man so handsome, and so very stately as Absalom. From the sole of the foot to the top of the head, there was no blemish in him.

2 Samuel 14:26 And when he shaved off his hair, for he shaved it off once a year, because his long hair was burdensome to him, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, by the public weights.

2 Samuel 14:27 Then three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter, of elegant form, whose name was Tamar.

2 Samuel 14:28 And Absalom remained for two years in Jerusalem, and he did not see the face of the king.

2 Samuel 14:29 And so, he sent to Joab, so that he might send him to the king. But he refused to come to him. And when he had sent a second time, and he had refused to come to him,

2 Samuel 14:30 he said to his servants: “You know that the field of Joab, the one that is near my field, has a harvest of barley. Therefore, go and set it on fire.” And so, the servants of Absalom set fire to the grain field. And the servants of Joab, arriving with their garments torn, said, “The servants of Absalom have set fire to part of the field!”

2 Samuel 14:31 And Joab rose up, and he went to Absalom at his house, and he said, “Why have your servants set fire to my grain field?”

2 Samuel 14:32 And Absalom responded to Joab: “I sent to you, begging that you might come to me, and that I might send you to the king, and that you might say to him: ‘Why was I brought from Geshur? It would have been better for me to be there.’ I beg you, therefore, that I may see the face of the king. And if he is mindful of my iniquity, let him put me to death.”

2 Samuel 14:33 And so, Joab, entering to the king, reported everything to him. And Absalom was summoned. And he entered to the king, and he reverenced on the face of the earth. And the king kissed Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:1 Then, after these things, Absalom obtained for himself chariots, and horsemen, and fifty men who went before him.

2 Samuel 15:2 And rising up in the morning, Absalom was standing beside the entrance of the gate. And when there was any man who had a dispute that might go before the king’s judgment, Absalom would call him to him, and would say, “Which city are you from?” And responding, he would say, “I am your servant, from a certain tribe of Israel.”

2 Samuel 15:3 And Absalom would answer him: “Your words seem good and just to me. But there is no one appointed by the king to hear you.” And Absalom would say:

2 Samuel 15:4 “Who may appoint me judge over the land, so that all those who have a dispute might come to me, and I might judge justly.”

2 Samuel 15:5 Then too, when a man would draw near to him, so that he might greet him, he would extend his hand, and taking hold of him, he would kiss him.

2 Samuel 15:6 And he was doing this to all those of Israel arriving for judgment to be heard by the king. And he solicited the hearts of the men of Israel.

2 Samuel 15:7 Then, after forty years, Absalom said to king David: “I should go and pay my vows, which I have vowed to the Lord at Hebron.

2 Samuel 15:8 For your servant made a vow, when he was in Geshur of Syria, saying: If the Lord will lead me back to Jerusalem, I will sacrifice to the Lord.”

2 Samuel 15:9 And king David said to him, “Go in peace.” And he rose up and went away to Hebron.

2 Samuel 15:10 They Absalom sent scouts into all the tribes of Israel, saying: “As soon as you hear the blare of the trumpet, say: ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron.’ ”

2 Samuel 15:11 Now having been called, two hundred men from Jerusalem went forth with Absalom, going in simplicity of heart and being entirely ignorant of the plan.

2 Samuel 15:12 Absalom also summoned Ahithophel the Gilonite, a counselor of David, from his city, Giloh. And when he was immolating victims, a very strong oath was sworn, and the people, hurrying together, joined with Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:13 Then a messenger went to David, saying, “With their whole heart, all of Israel is following Absalom.”