¹⁷ Your servant thought: May the word of my lord the king bring relief, for my lord the king is able to discern the good and the bad like the angel of God.^(A) May the Lord your God be with you.”

²⁰ Joab your servant has done this to address the issue indirectly,^[a] but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, knowing everything on earth.”

²⁸ All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom^(A) was in him to carry out justice.