The Reign of David

and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so is my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'

And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, `Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'

And the king saith, `Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, `Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none doth turn to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words;

in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that is in the land.'

And the king saith unto Joab, `Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.'

And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, `To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'

And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem,

and the king saith, `Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen.

And like Absalom there was no man so fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him;

and in his polling his head--and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth it , for it is heavy on him, and he hath polled it--he hath even weighed out the hair of his head--two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name is Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.

And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen;

and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come.

And he saith unto his servants, `See, the portion of Joab is by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.

And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, `Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'

And Absalom saith unto Joab, `Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? --good for me while I am there--and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'

And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth it to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.

And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Absalom prepareth for himself a chariot, and horses, and fifty men are running before him;

and Absalom hath risen early, and stood by the side of the way of the gate, and it cometh to pass, every man who hath a pleading to come unto the king for judgment, that Absalom calleth unto him, and saith, `Of what city art thou?' and he saith, `Of one of the tribes of Israel is thy servant.'

And Absalom saith unto him, `See, thy matters are good and straightforward--and there is none hearkening to thee from the king.'

And Absalom saith, `Who doth make me a judge in the land, that unto me doth come every man who hath a plea and judgment? --then I have declared him righteous.'

And it hath come to pass, in the drawing nearing of any one to bow himself to him, that he hath put forth his hand, and laid hold on him, and given a kiss to him;

and Absalom doth according to this thing to all Israel who come in for judgment unto the king, and Absalom stealeth the heart of the men of Israel.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of forty years, that Absalom saith unto the king, `Let me go, I pray thee, and I complete my vow, that I vowed to Jehovah in Hebron,

for a vow hath thy servant vowed in my dwelling in Geshur, in Aram, saying, If Jehovah doth certainly bring me back to Jerusalem, then I have served Jehovah.'