13. And the woman saith, `And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast;
14. for we do surely die, and [are] as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.
15. `And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,
16. for the king doth hearken to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man [seeking] to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God,
17. and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so [is] my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'
18. And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, `Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'
19. And the king saith, `Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, `Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none [doth turn] to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servantJoab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words;
20. in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that [is] in the land.'
21. And the king saith unto Joab, `Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.'
22. And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, `To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'
23. And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem,
24. and the king saith, `Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen.
25. And like Absalom there was no man [so] fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him;
26. and in his polling his head--and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth [it], for it [is] heavy on him, and he hath polled it--he hath even weighed out the hair of his head--two hundred shekels by the king's weight.
27. And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name [is] Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.
28. And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen;
29. and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come.
30. And he saith unto his servants, `See, the portion of Joab [is] by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.
31. And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, `Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'