16. Then a wise woman of the city cried, Hear, hear! Say to Joab, Come here so I can speak to you.
17. And when he came near her, the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of your handmaid. He answered, I am listening.
18. Then she said, People used to say, Let them but ask counsel at Abel, and so they settled the matter.
19. I am one of the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city which is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?
20. Joab answered, Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy!
21. That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said, Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.