1. Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much.
2. So Joab sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. Joab said to her, “Please pretend to be very sad for someone. Put on clothes to show your sadness. Don’t put lotion on yourself. Act like a woman who has been crying many days for someone who died.
3. Go to the king. Talk to him using the words that I tell you.” Then Joab told the wise woman what to say.
4. So the woman from Tekoa talked to the king. She bowed facedown on the ground to show respect. She said, “My king, help me!”
5. King David asked her, “What is the matter?”The woman said, “I am a widow. My husband is dead.
6. I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting. No one was there to stop them. So one son killed the other son.
7. Now all the family group is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring the son who killed his brother. Then we will kill him for killing his brother. That way we will also get rid of the one who would receive what belonged to his father.’ My son is like the last spark of a fire. He is all I have left. If they kill him, my husband’s name and property will be gone from the earth.”