4. The woman of Tekoa went to the king, bowed deeply before him in homage, and said, “O King, help!”
8. The king said, “Go home, and I’ll take care of this for you.”
9. “I’ll take all responsibility for what happens,” the woman of Tekoa said. “I don’t want to compromise the king and his reputation.”
10. “Bring the man who has been harassing you,” the king continued. “I’ll see to it that he doesn’t bother you anymore.”
11. “Let the king invoke the name of God,” said the woman, “so this self-styled vigilante won’t ruin everything, to say nothing of killing my son.”“As surely as God lives,” he said, “not so much as a hair of your son’s head will be lost.”
12. Then she asked, “May I say one more thing to my master, the king?”He said, “Go ahead.”
18. The king then said, “I’m going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully.”“Certainly,” she said. “Let my master, the king, speak.”
21. The king spoke to Joab. “All right, I’ll do it. Go and bring the young man Absalom back.”