📖 2 Samuel — Chapter 14 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
2 Samuel 14:1 Now RJoab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:2 And Joab sent Rto 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:
2 Samuel 14:3 And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab Rput the words in her mouth.
2 Samuel 14:4 And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she Rfell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, THelp, O king.
2 Samuel 14:5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, RI am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.
2 Samuel 14:6 And thy handmaid had two sons, Rand they two strove together in the field, and there was Tnone to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
2 Samuel 14:7 And, behold, Rthe 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 Tupon the earth.
2 Samuel 14:8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and RI will give charge concerning thee.
2 Samuel 14:9 And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, Rthe iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.
2 Samuel 14:10 And the king said, Whoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
2 Samuel 14:11 Then said she, I pray thee, Rlet the king remember the LORD thy God, Tthat 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.
2 Samuel 14:12 Then the woman said, RLet thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
2 Samuel 14:13 And the woman said, RWherefore 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.
2 Samuel 14:14 For Rwe must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; Tneither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
2 Samuel 14:15 Now 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.
2 Samuel 14:16 For 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.
2 Samuel 14:17 Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be RTcomfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king Tto discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.
2 Samuel 14:18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, RHide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
2 Samuel 14:19 And the king said, Is not the hand Rof 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:
2 Samuel 14:20 To Rfetch 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.
2 Samuel 14:21 And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, RI have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
2 Samuel 14:22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and RTthanked 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 This servant.
2 Samuel 14:23 So Joab arose and went to RGeshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 14:24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and Rlet him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
2 Samuel 14:25 RTBut 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.
2 Samuel 14:26 And Rwhen 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.
2 Samuel 14:27 And unto Absalom there were Rborn three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
2 Samuel 14:28 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.
2 Samuel 14:29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; Rbut he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
2 Samuel 14:30 Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is Tnear mine, and he hath barley there; Rgo and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
2 Samuel 14:31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
2 Samuel 14:32 And 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? Rit 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.
2 Samuel 14:33 So 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 Rkissed Absalom.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 14:1–11 — Joab arranges a persuasive story
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Joab sends a woman from Tekoah to present an invented family crisis to David. Her story concerns a surviving son threatened by those seeking vengeance for his brother’s death. David promises protection. Read her account as a speech Joab arranged, not as a separately verified event.
Key Truth: Persuasive stories need to be considered alongside their purpose and facts.
Check What You Remember
1. Who arranged the woman’s visit? (2 Samuel 14:2)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:2 (KJV).
2. From which place did the woman come? (2 Samuel 14:2)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:2 (KJV).
3. How many sons did the woman’s story describe? (2 Samuel 14:6)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 14:12–24 — Absalom returns without full reconciliation
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The woman applies her story to David’s banished son. David recognizes Joab’s involvement and permits Absalom’s return from Geshur, but excludes him from his presence. Physical return has not resolved the family’s wrongdoing or restored the relationship fully.
Key Truth: A changed location is not the same as repaired trust.
Check What You Remember
1. Whose involvement did David recognize? (2 Samuel 14:19)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:19 (KJV).
2. Where did Joab bring Absalom? (2 Samuel 14:23)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:23 (KJV).
3. Was Absalom initially allowed to see the king’s face? (2 Samuel 14:24)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:24 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Samuel 14:25–33 — Absalom forces a meeting
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The account describes Absalom’s beauty, hair, and children. After two years without seeing David, he has Joab’s barley field burned to force a response. Joab arranges a meeting, and David kisses Absalom. The meeting is recorded without an explicit confession or account of repaired wrongs; coercion is not presented as a healthy model for reconciliation.
Key Truth: Outward acceptance cannot substitute for truth and responsibility.
Check What You Remember
1. What was Absalom’s daughter named? (2 Samuel 14:27)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:27 (KJV).
2. How long did he live in Jerusalem without seeing the king? (2 Samuel 14:28)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:28 (KJV).
3. Whose field did Absalom have burned? (2 Samuel 14:30)
Find it in 2 Samuel 14:30 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Proverbs 28:13 — This passage connects mercy with confessing and forsaking sin.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What distinguishes a polite reunion from genuine reconciliation? Consider the place of truth, changed behavior, and care for people harmed by earlier decisions.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does Joab prepare the woman’s appeal before she meets David?
2. What threatened outcome does the woman’s story emphasize?
3. How does David identify the plan behind her words?
4. What limitation remains after Absalom is brought home?
5. How does Absalom force Joab to respond to his summons?
Notes
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