2 Samuel 14

All 33 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

Read 2 Samuel 14 in the Bible reader, with audio →

1. 1Joab, the son of Zeruiah, noticed that the king's heart was inclined toward Absalom.
2. 2Joab sent to Tekoa and brought back a wise woman. He told her, "I need you to pretend you're in mourning. Put on funeral clothes, don't use any perfumed oil, and act like a woman who has been grieving over a death for a long time."
3. 3"Then go to the king and say exactly what I tell you." Joab then coached her on every word to say.
4. 4When the woman from Tekoa came before the king, she fell facedown on the ground and bowed low. "Help me, my king!" she cried.
5. 5The king asked her, "What's wrong?" She answered, "I'm a widow. My husband is dead."
6. 6Your servant had two sons, and they got into a fight out in the field. There was nobody around to break it up, and one of them struck the other and killed him.
7. 7"Now the whole family has turned against me. They're demanding, 'Hand over the son who killed his brother so we can execute him for what he did.' But if they do that, they'll wipe out my only remaining heir. They'll snuff out the last ember I have left and leave my husband with no name and no descendants on the earth."
8. 8The king told the woman, "Go home. I'll issue an order on your behalf."
9. 9But the woman from Tekoa said to the king, "My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and my father's family. Let the king and his throne be free of guilt."
10. 10The king replied, "If anyone gives you trouble about this, bring him to me, and he won't bother you again."
11. 11Then she said, "Please, let the king swear by the LORD your God that you won't let the avengers of blood keep killing, so they don't destroy my son." He answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, not a single hair of your son's head will fall to the ground."
12. 12The woman said, "Please let me say one more thing to my lord the king." He replied, "Go ahead."
13. 13The woman said, "Then why have you done the same kind of thing against God's people? By making this ruling, the king convicts himself — because you haven't brought your own banished son back home."
14. 14We all have to die, and we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. God does not show favoritism, but He devises ways so that those who are banished are not kept away from Him.
15. 15"The reason I came to say all this to my lord the king is that people had frightened me. I thought, 'I'll speak to the king — maybe he'll grant what I ask.'"
16. 16"I believed the king would listen and rescue me from the man who wants to cut off both me and my son from God's inheritance."
17. 17Then your servant said, 'The word of my lord the king will now bring comfort, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and bad. Therefore, may the LORD your God be with you.'
18. 18Then the king said to the woman, "Don't hide anything from me when I ask you this." She replied, "Go ahead, my lord the king."
19. 19The king asked, "Isn't Joab behind all of this with you?" The woman answered, "As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can avoid what you have said. Yes, your servant Joab instructed me, and he put all these words in my mouth."
20. 20Joab did this to bring about this form of speech. But my lord is wise, with the wisdom of an angel of God, knowing all things that are in the earth.
21. 21The king turned to Joab and said, "All right, I've made my decision. Go and bring the young man Absalom back."
22. 22Joab fell facedown on the ground, bowed low, and thanked the king. He said, "Today I know I have found grace in your sight, my lord the king, because you have granted your servant's request."
23. 23So Joab set out for Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24. 24But the king said, "He can go to his own house, but he is not to come into my presence." So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king face to face.
25. 25Now in all of Israel, no one was as admired for his appearance as Absalom. From the soles of his feet to the top of his head, there wasn't a single flaw on him.
26. 26When he cut the hair on his head—for he cut it at the end of every year because the hair was heavy on him—he weighed the hair on his head at 200 shekels by the king's standard.
27. 27Absalom had three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
28. 28Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without ever seeing the king's face.
29. 29He sent for Joab, wanting him to go to the king on his behalf, but Joab refused to come. He sent a second time, and Joab still wouldn't come.
30. 30So Absalom told his servants, "Look, Joab's barley field is right next to mine. Go set it on fire." And Absalom's servants set the field ablaze.
31. 31Joab got up, went to Absalom's house, and asked him, 'Why have your servants set my field on fire?'
32. 32Absalom answered, "I sent for you twice, asking you to come so I could send you to the king with a message: 'Why did I bother coming back from Geshur? I'd be better off still living there. Let me see the king face to face — and if I'm guilty of something, let him execute me.'"
33. 33So Joab went to the king and delivered the message. The king summoned Absalom, and when he came, he bowed facedown to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.