1. Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see Absalom.
2. So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time.
3. Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4. So the Tekoan woman went to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me, O king!”
5. The king replied to her, “What do you want?” She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.