² So Joab sent someone to Tekoa^(A) and had a wise woman^(B) brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions.^(C) Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa went^[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁹ But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon^(A) me and my family,^(B) and let the king and his throne be without guilt.^(C)”