¹وعلم يوآب ابن صروية ان قلب الملك على ابشالوم.

¹And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.

²فارسل يوآب الى تقوع واخذ من هناك امرأة حكيمة. وقال لها تظاهري بالحزن والبسي ثياب الحزن ولا تدّهني بزيت بل كوني كامرأة لها ايام كثيرة وهي تنوح على ميت.

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

³وادخلي الى الملك وكلميه بهذا الكلام. وجعل يوآب الكلام في فمها

³and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth.

⁴وكلمت المرأة التقوعية الملك وخرّت على وجهها الى الارض وسجدت وقالت اعن ايها الملك.

⁴And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king!

⁵فقال لها الملك ما بالك. فقالت اني امرأة ارملة. قد مات رجلي.

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

⁶ولجاريتك ابنان فتخاصما في الحقل وليس من يفصل بينهما فضرب احدهما الآخر وقتله.

⁶And thy bondmaid 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.

⁷وهوذا العشيرة كلها قد قامت على جاريتك وقالوا سلمي ضارب اخيه لنقتله بنفس اخيه الذي قتله فنهلك الوارث ايضا. فيطفئون جمرتي التي بقيت ولا يتركون لرجلي اسما ولا بقية على وجه الارض.

⁷And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.

⁸فقال الملك للمرأة اذهبي الى بيتك وانا اوصي فيك.

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

⁹فقالت المرأة التقوعية للملك عليّ الاثم يا سيدي الملك وعلى بيت ابي والملك وكرسيه نقيان.

⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

¹⁰فقال الملك اذا كلمك احد فأتي به اليّ فلا يعود يمسك بعد.

¹⁰And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

¹¹فقالت اذكر ايها الملك الرب الهك حتى لا يكثر ولي الدم القتل لئلا يهلكوا ابني. فقال حيّ هو الرب انه لا تسقط شعرة من شعر ابنك الى الارض.

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

¹²فقالت المرأة لتتكلم جاريتك كلمة الى سيدي الملك. فقال تكلمي.

¹²And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.

¹³فقالت المرأة ولماذا افتكرت بمثل هذا الامر على شعب الله. ويتكلم الملك بهذا الكلام كمذنب بما ان الملك لا يرد منفيه.

¹³And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against God's people? and the king in saying this thing, is as one guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

¹⁴لانه لا بد ان نموت ونكون كالماء المهراق على الارض الذي لا يجمع ايضا. ولا ينزع الله نفسا بل يفكر افكارا حتى لا يطرد عنه منفيّه.

¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him.

¹⁵والآن حيث اني جئت لاكلم الملك سيدي بهذا الأمر لان الشعب اخافني فقالت جاريتك اكلم الملك لعل الملك يفعل كقول امته.

¹⁵And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

¹⁶لان الملك يسمع لينقذ امته من يد الرجل الذي يريد ان يهلكني انا وابني معا من نصيب الله.

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.

¹⁷فقالت جاريتك ليكن كلام سيدي الملك عزاء لانه سيدي الملك انما هو كملاك الله لفهم الخير والشر والرب الهك يكون معك

¹⁷And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.

¹⁸فاجاب الملك وقال للمرأة لا تكتمي عني امرا اسألك عنه. فقالت المرأة ليتكلم سيدي الملك.

¹⁸And the king answered and said to 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.

¹⁹فقال الملك هل يد يوآب معك في هذا كله. فاجابت المرأة وقالت حيّة هي نفسك يا سيدي الملك لا يحاد يمينا او يسارا عن كل ما تكلم به سيدي الملك. لان عبدك يوآب هو اوصاني وهو وضع في فم جاريتك كل هذا الكلام.

¹⁹And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:

²⁰لاجل تحويل وجه الكلام فعل عبدك يوآب هذا الامر وسيدي حكيم كحكمة ملاك الله ليعلم كل ما في الارض

²⁰in order to turn the appearance of the thing has thy servant Joab done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.

²¹فقال الملك ليوآب هانذا قد فعلت هذا الامر فاذهب رد الفتى ابشالوم.

²¹And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: so go, bring back the young man Absalom.

²²فسقط يوآب على وجهه الى الارض وسجد وبارك الملك وقال يوآب اليوم علم عبدك اني قد وجدت نعمة في عينيك يا سيدي الملك اذ فعل الملك قول عبده.

²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.

²³ثم قام يوآب وذهب الى جشور وأتى بابشالوم الى اورشليم.

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

²⁴فقال الملك لينصرف الى بيته ولا ير وجهي. فانصرف ابشالوم الى بيته ولم ير وجه الملك

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

²⁵ولم يكن في كل اسرائيل رجل جميل وممدوح جدا كابشالوم من باطن قدمه حتى هامته لم يكن فيه عيب.

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.

²⁶وعند حلقه راسه اذ كان يحلقه في آخر كل سنة لانه كان يثقل عليه فيحلقه كان يزن شعر راسه مئتي شاقل بوزن الملك.

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

²⁷وولد لابشالوم ثلاثة بنين وبنت واحدة اسمها ثامار وكانت امرأة جميلة المنظر

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

²⁸واقام ابشالوم في اورشليم سنتين ولم ير وجه الملك.

²⁸So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king's face.

²⁹فارسل ابشالوم الى يوآب ليرسله الى الملك فلم يشأ ان يأتي اليه. ثم ارسل ايضا ثانية فلم يشأ ان يأتي.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him; and he sent again the second time, but he would not come.

³⁰فقال لعبيده انظروا. حقلة يوآب بجانبي وله هناك شعير. اذهبوا واحرقوه بالنار. فاحرق عبيد ابشالوم الحقلة بالنار.

³⁰Then he said to his servants, See, Joab's allotment is near mine and he has barley there: go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the allotment on fire.

³¹فقام يوآب وجاء الى ابشالوم الى البيت وقال له لماذا احرق عبيدك حقلتي بالنار.

³¹Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to [his] house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my allotment on fire?

³²فقال ابشالوم ليوآب هانذا قد ارسلت اليك قائلا تعال الى هنا فارسلك الى الملك تقول لماذا جئت من جشور. خير لي لو كنت باقيا هناك. فالآن اني ارى وجه الملك وان وجد فيّ اثم فليقتلني.

³²And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it would have been better for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him slay me.

³³فجاء يوآب الى الملك واخبره. ودعا ابشالوم فأتى الى الملك وسجد على وجهه الى الارض قدام الملك فقبّل الملك ابشالوم

³³And Joab came to the king, and told him. And he called Absalom, and he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.