1. Joab son of Zeruiah observed that the king’s mind was on Absalom.
2. So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to bring a clever woman from there. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don’t put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.
3. Go to the king and speak these words to him.” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.
4. When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell with her face to the ground in homage and said, “Help me, my king! ”