2 Samuel 14
Joab Arranges for Absalom’s Return
1Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.
5“What’s the trouble?” the king asked. “Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead.
6My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. 7Now the rest of the family is demanding, ‘Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”
8“Leave it to me,” the king told her. “Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”
13She replied, “Why don’t you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. 14All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.
15“I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me 16and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance God has given us. 17Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the Lord your God be with you.”
21So the king sent for Joab and told him, “All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom.”
23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.
Absalom Reconciled to David
25Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. 26He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds! 27He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
28Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king. 29Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. 30So Absalom said to his servants, “Go and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next to mine.” So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.
31Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”
2 Samuel 14 (NLT)
Click verse numbers to view individual verses with commentary
2 Samuel
Chapter 14
14 of 24