1. So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned about Absalom.
2. And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.
3. Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4. And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O king!”