2 Samuel 14:17-27
New American Standard Bible
18Then the king answered and said to the woman, 'Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you.' And the woman said, 'Let my lord the king please speak.'
19So the king said, 'Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?' And the woman replied, 'As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
20In order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.'
21Then the king said to Joab, 'Behold now, I will certainly do this thing; go then, bring back the young man Absalom.'
22And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself, and blessed the king; then Joab said, 'Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant.'
23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24However, the king said, 'He shall return to his own house, but he shall not see my face.' So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.
25Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no impairment in him.
26And when he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
27And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
King James Version
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.
Christian Standard Bible
19The king asked, "Did Joab put you up to all this?" The woman answered. "As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or left from all my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave orders to me; he told your servant exactly what to say.
20Joab your servant has done this to address the issue indirectly, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, knowing everything on earth."
23So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24However, the king added, "He may return to his house, but he may not see my face." So Absalom returned to his house, but he did not see the king.
25No man in all Israel was as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
26When he shaved his head—he shaved it at the end of every year because his hair got so heavy for him that he had to shave it off—he would weigh the hair from his head and it would be five pounds according to the royal standard.
New Living Translation
19Did Joab put you up to this?' And the woman replied, 'My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say.
20He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!'
23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24But the king gave this order: 'Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.' So Absalom did not see the king.
25Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot.
26He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!
27He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
English Standard Version
18Then the king answered the woman, "Do not hide from me anything I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."
19The king said, "Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered and said, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
20In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth."
21Then the king said to Joab, "Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom."
22And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant."
23So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24And the king said, "Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence." So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king 's presence.
25Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king 's weight.
27There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
New International Version
19The king asked, "Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.
20Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land."
23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24But the king said, "He must go to his own house; he must not see my face." So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.
25In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.
26Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.
New King James Version
19So the king said, “ Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “ As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.
20To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.”
22Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and thanked the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.”
23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24And the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but do not let him see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king’s face.
25Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king’s standard.
27To Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.
