2 Samuel 14:1-3

David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem

14:1 Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see ¹  Absalom. 14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning ²  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  14:3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. ⁴ 

[14:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the heart of the king was upon.” The Syriac Peshitta adds the verb ’ethre’i (“was reconciled”).

[14:2]  ² tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.

[14:2]  ³ tn Heb “these many days.”

[14:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).