¹⁴ And he went through all the tribes of Israel to ^(A)Abel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after ^[a]Sheba. ¹⁵ Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they ^(B)cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.

¹⁶ Then a wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’ ”