that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he hath slain; for we will cut him off though he be your heir. Thus will they quench my coal, which is left, so that there will not be left to my husband a remnant, or a name, on the face of 8 the earth. Thereupon the king said to the woman, Go in peace to 9 thy house, and I will give orders concerning thee. And the woman of Thekoe said to the king, Upon me, O my lord the king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and let the king 10 and his throne be guiltless! Then the king said, Let who will speak to thee, bring him to me, and he shall no more touch him. And she said, Let the king, I pray thee, make mention 11 of the Lord his God, that though avengers of blood be multiplied to destroy, they shall not destroy my son. Whereupon he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not a hair of thy son's head fall to the ground.

12

Then the woman said, Let thy servant, I pray thee, speak 13 a word to my lord the king, and he said, Speak. And the woman said, Why hast thou come to such a determination against the people of God? Or is that word, That the king would not recal his own exile, a kind of trespass from the mouth of the 14 king? Because we must surely die, and be like water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again-and God can take away life when he is determined to remove an outcast 15 from him; now therefore in respect to the matter about which I came to speak to my lord the king, Because the people will see me, therefore thy servant will say, Pray speak to my lord the king; perhaps the king will grant the request of his ser16 vant. Because the king will hear, let him deliver his servant

out of the hand of the man who seeketh to remove me and my 17 son from the inheritance of the Lord. Then the woman said,

18

Let the word of my lord the king be, I pray, for a sacrifice; for since my lord the king is as an angel of God to discern what is good and what is bad, surely the Lord thy God must be with thee.

Then the king answered and said to the woman, Conceal not from me I pray thee, the thing which I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Pray let my lord the king speak. And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in this whole bu19 siness? And the woman said to the king, As thy soul liveth,

my lord the king, there is no turning to the right, nor to the left, from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab commanded me, and he himself put all these words 20 in the mouth of thy servant, that this case might wear the appearance of the thing which thy servant Joab wished to have done. But my lord is wise as an angel of God, to know all the 21 things on the earth. Then the king said to Joab, Behold I have done for thee according to this thy state of the case; 22 bring back the young man, Abessalom. Upon which Joab fell on his face to the ground, and made obeisance, and blessed the king. And Joab said, Now thy servant knoweth that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord the king, because my 23 lord the king hath granted the suit of his servant. Then Joab

arose and went to Gedsur, and brought Abessalom to Jerusa24 lem. And the king said, Let him return to his house, and not see my face. So Abessalom returned to his house, and did not see the king's face.

25

Now in all Israel there was not a man so very comely as Abessalom. From the sole of his foot, to the crown of his 26 head, there was not a blemish in him. When he polled his head, and at the beginning of every year he had it polled, because the hair was burthensome to him, and when he polled it he weighed the hair of his head, and it weighed two hundred 27 shekels after the king's shekel. And to Abessalom there

were born three sons and one daughter. The name of his 28 daughter was Themar. She was a very beautiful woman. And

when Abessalom had dwelt two years at Jerusalem, and saw 29 not the king's face, Abessalom sent for Joab that he might send him to the king, but he declined coming to him. And when he had sent a second time, and he declined coming, 30 Abessalom said to his servants, See, the portion of land in the field adjoining mine is Joab's, and he hath barley there. Go and set it on fire. And when Abessalom's servants set the field on fire, the servants of Joab came to him, with their clothes rent, and said, Abessalom's servants have burned the field 31 with fire. Thereupon Joab arose, and went to Abessalom, and 32 said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire? And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold I sent to thee, saying, Come here that I may send thee to the king, saying, Why have I

come from Gedsur? It was better for me to be there, as I have not yet seen the king's face. If indeed there be wickedness in 33 me, put me to death. Then Joab went to the king, and delivered him this message, and he sent for Abessalom, and Abessalom went to the king, and made obeisance to him, and prostrated himself on the ground before him, and the king kissed XV. him. And after this, Abessalom procured for himself 2 chariots, and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Abessalom rose early in the morning, and took his stand at the place where the road turned off to the gate. And when 3 any man who had a controversy came to the king for judgment, Abessalom called to him, and said, Of what city art thou? And when he said, Thy servant is of such a one of the tribes of Israel, Abessalom said to him, Behold thy cause is good, and easily determined, but there is none appointed by 4 the king to hear thee. Then would Abessalom say, Ọ that they would make me a judge in the land! In that case if any man had a defence to make, or a suit to prosecute, and would 5 come to me, I would do him justice. And when any man came to make obeisance to him, he stretched forth his hand, and 6 took him, and kissed him. In this manner Abessalom acted to all Israel who were coming to the king for judgment, so that 7 Abessalom won the hearts of the men of Israel. And at the end of four years Abessalom said to his father, Let me I pray thee go and pay my vows at Chebron, which I vowed to the 8 Lord. For when I dwelt at Gedsur, in Syria, thy servant vow

ed a vow, saying, If the Lord will bring me back to Jerusa9 lem, I will serve the Lord. And the king said to him, Go in 10 peace. So he arose and went to Chebron. Now Abessalom

had sent spies through all the tribes of Israel, saying, When you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, Abessalom is 11 king in Chebron. And there went with Abessalom two hun

dred chosen men out of Jerusalem. They indeed went in their 12 simplicity, for they knew nothing. And Abessalom sent for Achitophel, the Thekonite, the counsellor of David, from his own city, namely, from Gola, while he was sacrificing. So the conspiracy became strong, and the people who came, and they 13 were many, were with Abessalom. And there came a messenger to David, saying, The heart of the men of Israel is gorre

14 after Abessalom. Upon this David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, for there is no safety for us on account of Abessalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and throw the blame on us, 15 when he shall smite the city with the edge of the sword. And the king's servants said to the king, Whatever our lord the 16 king chuseth, behold we thy servants are ready to do. So the king and all his household, set out on foot, and the king left 17 ten of his concubines to keep the house. And when the king, with all his servants, on foot, had gone out, they halted at the farthest house, and all his servants passed on by him, name18 ly, all the Chelethites, and all the Phelethites, and they halted near the olive yard, in the wilderness. And all the people passed by near him. Now all that were around him-all the nobles, and all the warriors, were six hundred men, and while these stood by him, all the Chelethites, and all the Phelethites, and all the Gethites-the six hundred men who had come on foot 19 from Geth, marched on before the king. And the king said to

Ethi the Gethite, Why shouldst thou go with us? Return and dwell with the king; for thou art a stranger, and hast 20 come as an exile from thy own place. As thou art come but

yesterday, shall I to-day cause thee to move with us, and change thy abode? As for me, I will go where I can; but return thou and take back thy brethren with thee; and the Lord 21 will deal mercifully and truly with thee. And Ethi answered

the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, whithersoever my lord goeth, whether to death or 22 to life, there shall thy servant be. Whereupon the king said to Ethi, Come and march with me. So Ethi, the Gethite marched on with the king, and all his servants, and all the multitude 23 who were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, while all the people were crossing the brook Kedron. And when the king had crossed the brook Kedron, all the people, and the king, continued their march by the way to 24 the wilderness. Now behold Sadok, and all the Levites, were with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Baithar. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done coming out of the 25. city. Then the king said to Sadok, Carry back the ark of

God into the city. If I find favour in the sight of the Lord, he 26 will bring me back, and shew me it and its comeliness. But if he should say, I have no pleasure in thee, behold here am I. 27 Let him do to me as seemeth good in his sight. Then the king said to Sadok the priest, See! thou returnest to the city in peace; and Achimaas, thy son, and Jonathan, the son of 28 Abiathar-your two sons are with you. See! I will encamp at

Araboth of the wilderness, until a message come from you to 29 give me intelligence. So Sadok and Abiathar carried back the 30 ark of God to Jerusalem, and it abode there. And David went up by the ascent of the olive orchards, weeping as he went up, and having his head covered, and walking barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered, every one, his head, 31 and went up weeping as they went. And when it was told

David that Achitophel was among the conspirators with Abessalom, David said, Confound, I beseech thee, O Lord my 32 God, the counsel of Achitophel. And David continued his march till he came to Ros, where he worshipped God. And behold Chousi, an old companion of David, met him there, 33 with his clothes rent, and earth on his head. And David said 34 to him, If thou go with me, thou wilt be a burden to me: but

if thou return to the city, and wilt say to Abessalom, Thy brothers are gone, and the king thy father is gone, and hath left me behind, now therefore, I am thy servant, O king. Let me live. I have been thy father's servant hitherto; but now I am thy servant: thou mayst baffle for me the counsel of Achi35 tophel. And behold there are there with thee, Sadok and

Abiathar, the priests, so that whatever thou mayst hear from the king's household thou wilt tell to Sadok and Abiathar, the 36 priests. And behold they have there with them their two sons, Achimaas, son of Sadok, and Jonathan, son of Abiathar, so that by them you can send to me every thing you may hear. 37 Accordingly, Chousi, David's companion, came to the city, just as Abessalom was entering Jerusalem.

XVI.

And when David had marched on a little way from Ros, behold Siba, the servant of Memphibosthe, came out to meet him with a couple of asses saddled, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of dried grapes, and a 2 hundred bunches of dates, and a nebel of wine. And the king