2 Samuel 14

KJV · Chapter 14/24

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.

²And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

³And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

⁵And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

⁶And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

⁷And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

⁸And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

⁹And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.

¹⁰And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

¹¹Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

¹²Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

¹³And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.

¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

¹⁵Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

¹⁶For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

¹⁷Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.

¹⁸Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

¹⁹And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:

²⁰To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

²¹And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.

²³So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.

²⁵But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

²⁶And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.

²⁷And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.

²⁸So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.

²⁹Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.

³⁰Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?

³²And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

³³So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joab devises a plan using a wise woman from Tekoa to persuade David to allow Absalom's return from exile. David permits his return but refuses to see him in person for two years, until Absalom forces a meeting.

Explanation

Joab, ever alert to the kingdom's political stability, uses a parable (as Nathan once did) to soften David's heart, but the result is an incomplete reconciliation: Absalom returns physically, while his relationship with his father remains wounded for years. This partial reconciliation — forgiveness without real restoration — leaves resentment building beneath the surface that will later explode. It is a warning about how surface-level forgiveness, without truly addressing the wound, does not resolve the root problem.

Fun facts

The description of Absalom's hair, cut once a year and weighing 200 shekels (about 2.3 kg / 5 lbs), is often cited as a sign of extreme vanity — something rabbinic tradition ironically links to his later death, when his hair gets caught in an oak tree (chapter 18).
Absalom sets Joab's field on fire to force a conversation — a dramatic gesture that already reveals the impulsive, manipulative temperament that will mark his future rebellion.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Samuel 14:1Joab perceives that David’s heart still turns toward Absalom, despite the separation, and decides to act to bring them back together.
2 Samuel 14:2Joab hires a wise woman from Tekoa to pose as someone who has been mourning a long time, a role marked by mourning clothes and no perfumed oil—this recognizable disguise of genuine grief is what earns the woman an audience with the king.
2 Samuel 14:3Joab coaches the woman, putting into her mouth exactly the words she should say to the king.
2 Samuel 14:4The woman from Tekoa falls on her face before David and cries for help, beginning the performance Joab had prepared.
2 Samuel 14:5The king asks what is troubling her, and she says she is a widow, her husband already dead.
2 Samuel 14:6She invents a story: her two sons fought in the field with no one to separate them, and one ended up killing the other.
2 Samuel 14:7She says the whole family demands that the surviving son be handed over to be put to death, which would wipe out the one hope she has left, along with her husband’s name.
2 Samuel 14:8This woman from Tekoa was sent by Joab, disguised as a grieving widow, to tell an invented story and convince David to forgive his own son Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:9The woman insists that any blame for this decision fall on her and her family, and not on the king.
2 Samuel 14:10David assures her that if anyone tries to harm her over this decision, she should bring that person to him, and he will settle the matter.
2 Samuel 14:11The “revengers of blood” were relatives of the dead with the right and duty to execute whoever had killed a family member—the woman asks David to set that rule aside for her son’s sake, laying the groundwork to ask the same mercy for Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:12The woman asks permission to say one more word to the king, and David lets her continue.
2 Samuel 14:13The woman turns the tables: she asks why the king, who has decided to spare her son, still keeps his own son, Absalom, banished and in exile.
2 Samuel 14:14She argues that we must all die and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again, and that God devises ways to bring back the one who is banished.
2 Samuel 14:15The woman explains that she came to say this because the people pressured her, in the hope that the king would grant her request.
2 Samuel 14:16She hopes the king will deliver her from the hand of the man who wanted to destroy her and her son together, cutting them off from God’s inheritance.
2 Samuel 14:17She praises the king’s wisdom, comparing him to an angel of God, able to discern good and evil in any situation.
2 Samuel 14:18David asks her to hide nothing from him about what he is going to ask, and she agrees to answer honestly.
2 Samuel 14:19David asks directly whether Joab is behind this whole story, and the woman admits that he is, unable to deny it.
2 Samuel 14:20The woman explains that Joab did this to change the course of things, again praising the king’s wisdom in seeing through it all.
2 Samuel 14:21David gives in and orders Joab to go bring the young man Absalom back.
2 Samuel 14:22Joab bows down gratefully before the king, glad to have obtained what he asked for.
2 Samuel 14:23After hearing the Tekoite woman’s parable, David gives in and sends for Absalom—but the forgiveness is only partial: for two more years the king will not even agree to see him in person.
2 Samuel 14:24David allows Absalom to return home, but sets one condition: he may not come into the king’s presence.
2 Samuel 14:25The text highlights Absalom’s beauty, saying that in all Israel there was no man so highly praised for his looks, without a single flaw from head to foot.
2 Samuel 14:26Two hundred shekels by the king’s standard weight is a great deal of hair—the extravagant detail about Absalom’s yearly haircut reinforces his fame as the most handsome man in Israel, without a single flaw from head to foot.
2 Samuel 14:27Three sons and a daughter named Tamar are born to Absalom, she too described as a very beautiful woman—the same name as the sister he had avenged.
2 Samuel 14:28Absalom lives in Jerusalem two full years without ever seeing his father’s face.
2 Samuel 14:29Absalom tries to summon Joab to ask him to intercede with the king, but Joab refuses to come, even after being sent for twice.
2 Samuel 14:30Frustrated, Absalom has his servants set fire to a field of barley belonging to Joab, right next to his own.
2 Samuel 14:31This finally brings Joab to Absalom, asking why his servants set his field on fire.
2 Samuel 14:32Absalom explains he only wanted Joab’s attention to ask the king for an audience—he would rather have stayed in Geshur than live like this, never seeing his father’s face.
2 Samuel 14:33Joab intercedes with the king, and Absalom is finally summoned, bows down before David, and the king kisses him—the reconciliation, at least outwardly, is complete.

Chapters

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