9. The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "O my lord, the king, the iniquity is on me and my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."
10. So the king said, "Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore."
11. Then she said, "Please let the king remember the Lord your God, so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son." And he said, "As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground."
12. Then the woman said, "Please let your maidservant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."
13. The woman said, "Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.
14. For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from him.
15. Now the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your maidservant said, 'Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his maidservant.
16. For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy both me and my son from the inheritance of God.'
17. Then your maidservant said, 'Please let the word of my lord the king be comforting, for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.'"
18. Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."
19. So the king said, "Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?" And the woman replied, "As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant;
20. in order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is in the earth."
21. Then the king said to Joab, "Behold now, I will surely do this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom."
22. Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself and blessed the king; then Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, O my lord, the king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant."
23. So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24. However the king said, "Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face." So Absalom turned to his own house and did not see the king's face.
25. Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him.
26. When he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, for it was heavy on him so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king's weight.