16. For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God
17. And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.
18. And the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
19. And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:
20. in order to turn the appearance of the thing has thy servant Joab done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God to know all that is in the earth.
21. And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: so go, bring back the young man Absalom.
22. And Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.
23. And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24. And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. And Absalom withdrew to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
25. But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.