Absalom ta filwa onghenda
1 Joab yaSeruja eshi a dimbulukwa nokutya, omutima wohamba wa kanyatela muAbsalom, 2 Joab okwa tuma kuTekoa va ka tale ko omukainhu omunaendunge ndele ta ti kuye: “Liningifa ngaashi ou ta nyika oluhodi u djale oshikutu sheefya. Ino vava omaadi, ndelenee kala ngaashi omwalikadi ou ta lili eefya omafiku mahapu omolwanakufya. 3 Inda hano kohamba ndele u mu lombwele ngaha.” Ndele Joab okwa tula mokanya kaye eendjovo.
4 Nomukainhu wokuTekoa okwa ya kohamba, ndele te linyongamene ndele ta wile eombe koshipala shayo poshi ndele ta ti: “Akutu tatekulu ohamba, kwafa!” 5 Opo nee ohamba tai mu pula: “Owa hala shike?” Ndele ye ta ti: “Oshili, aame omufiyekadi, omulumenhu wange okwa fya. 6 Nomupiya woye omukainhu okwa li e novana ovamati vavali, ndele vo aveshe vavali va twa eemhata poluhaela. Ndele kapa li nande umwe te va anuna, onghee hano umwe okwa denga mukwao nokwe mu dipaa.
7 “Ndele tala, epata alishe la fikama okukondjifa omupiya woye omukainhu ndele tali ti: ‘Yandja nakudipaa mumwaina, tu mu dipaele omwenyo womumwaina ou e mu dipaa po, nanakufyuulula tu mu teye po yo.’ Osho ngaha va hala okudima po ekala nde li xupifilwa, omulumenhu wange aha xupifilwe edina ile oludalo kombada yedu.” 8 Nohamba ya nyamukula omukainhu: “Inda keumbo leni, ame handi ka yandja ondaka omolwoye.” 9 Opo nee omukainhu wokuTekoa ta ti kohamba: “Omwene wange ohamba, etimba nali kale kombada yange nokombada yeumbo lange, ndelenee ohamba nolukalwapangelo layo kali noushima.” 10 Nohamba tai nyamukula: “Keshe umwe ou ta popi naave ngaha u noku mu eta kwaame, opo ye ite ku pyakidike vali.” 11 Ndele ye ta ti: “Ohamba nai dimbulukwe Omwene Kalunga kayo, opo omupuli wohonde aha wede po vali etimba, omumwange omumati aha nyonwe po.” Opo nee yo tai ti: “Oshili, ngaashi Omwene e nomwenyo, oluxwiki nande limwe lokomutwe womumwoye itali ka wila poshi!”
12 Nomukainhu ta pula: “Efa, omupiya woye omukainhu na popye natango ondjovo imwe nomwene wange ohamba.” Ndele yo tai nyamukula: “Popya.” 13 Opo nee omukainhu ta ti: “Omolwashike ove wa diladila u ningile oshiwana shaKalunga sha fa osho? Shaashi mokupopya ngaha ohamba ya fa ou e netimba, osheshi ohamba inai hala omweekelwashi mwene a aluke. 14 Osheshi fye otu nokufya efiku limwe, ndele hatu ningi ngaashi omeva a tilwashi medu, omunhu ita dulu oku a ongela vali. Ndele Kalunga ita kufa po omwenyo, ndelenee ota diladila nokutya, epongo liha kale la tukauka naye. 15 Onghee hano nde uya okupopya oshinima eshi nomwene wange ohamba, osheshi ovanhu va tilifa nge. Ndelenee omupiya woye omukainhu okwa diladila: Ame ohandi ka popya nohamba. Kashiimba ohamba tai ka ninga paendjovo domupiya wayo omukainhu. 16 Osheshi ohamba otai ka pwilikina shili opo i xupife omupiya wayo omukainhu meke lomulumenhu ou ta hetekele okukandula nge po pamwe nomumwange omumati moshitukulwafyuululwa shaKalunga. 17 Omupiya woye omukainhu okwa diladila vali: Ondjovo yomwene wange ohamba tai ka tulumukifa nge. Osheshi omwene wange ohamba i li ngaashi omweengeli waKalunga, a shiiva ouwa nowii. NOmwene Kalunga koye na kale naave!” 18 Opo nee ohamba tai nyamukula omukainhu ndele tai ti: “Ino holeka nge sha osho handi ke ku pula.” Nomukainhu ta ti: “Omwene wange ohamba na popye.” 19 Opo nee ohamba tai pula: “Mwaasho ashishe eke laJoab omo li li pamwe naave?” Nomukainhu ta nyamukula ndele ta ti: “Oshili, ngaashi omwenyo woye u nomwenyo, omwene wange ohamba, itashi dulika okukanduka po nande kolulyo ile kolumosho mwaado omwene wange ohamba tai popi. Heeno, omupiya woye Joab okwa lombwela nge ndele ye okwa tula eendjovo adishe edi mokanya komupiya woye omukainhu. 20 Opo a ete oshinima molupe limwe li lili omupiya woye Joab a ninga ngaha. Ndelenee omwene wange e nomayele omweengeli waKalunga ndele a shiiva ashishe eshi tashi ningwa kombada yedu.”
21 Nohamba tai ti kuJoab: “Hano tala, ehalo olo ame ohandi li wanifa! Inda hano u ka alule omumati Absalom, ne uye.” 22 Opo nee Joab te linyongamene poshi ndele ta tu oshipala shaye pedu ndele ta nangeke ohamba noupuna. Ndele Joab ta ti: “Nena eli omupiya woye e shi shii nokutya, ame nda filwa onghenda momesho oye, omwene wange ohamba, osheshi ohamba tai wanifa ehalo lomupiya wayo.” 23 Ndele Joab okwa fikama ndele ta i kuGesur nokwa eta Absalom kuJerusalem. 24 Nohamba ya tya: “Na ye meumbo laye, ndelenee ita mono oshipala shange.” Ndele Absalom okwa ya meumbo laye. Ndelenee oshipala shohamba ine shi mona.
25 Ndele muIsrael ashishe inamu kala omulumenhu nande umwe e nondjelo iwa nomutangwa ngaashi Absalom. Okudja koshififinwa fiyo opokati komutwe waye kamu nombudi yasha. 26 Ndele ye eshi e likululifa omutwe waye, osheshi e likululifa momudo keshe, osheshi da li di noudjuu kuye, oku di humbata, onghee hano e di kululifa, opo nee eexwiki dokomutwe waye da yelekwa neekilograma mbali paekilograma dohamba. 27 Ndele Absalom okwa dalelwa ovana ovamati vatatu nokakadona kamwe, edina lako Tamar, omukainhu muwa okutala.
28 Ndele Absalom okwa kala eedula mbali di yadi muJerusalem ndele ina mona oshipala shohamba. 29 Onghee hano Absalom a ifana Joab opo ye e mu twale kohamba, ndelenee ye ina hala okuuya kuye. Ndele okwa tumununa ko vali, ndele ye ina hala okuuya. 30 Opo nee ye ta lombwele ovapiya vaye ta ti: “Taleni, epya laJoab la shaama nepya lange, ndele li noilya. Indeni mu ke li xwike.” Ndele ovapiya vaAbsalom va xwika epya. 31 Opo nee Joab a fikama ndele te uya keumbo laAbsalom ndele te mu pula: “Omolwashike ovapiya voye va xwika po epya lange?” 32 Ndele Absalom ta ti kuJoab: “Tala, onde ku tumina ondaka. Ila oku, opo ndi ku tume kohamba u pule: ‘Omolwashike nde uya nda dja kuGesur? Ngeno nda li kwinya ngeno sha wapala.’ Paife nda hala okumona oshipala shohamba, ndele ngeenge ndi netimba yo nai dipae nge.” 33 Opo nee Joab a ya kohamba nokwe shi i shiivifila. Ndele oya ifana Absalom, ndele ye okwa ya kohamba nokwe linyongamena moipafi yayo oshipala shaye sha twa pedu koshipala shohamba. Ndele ohamba oya fipa Absalom komilungu.
Joab Arranges for Absalom's Return
1 Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much, 2 so he sent for a clever woman who lived in Tekoa. When she arrived, he said to her, “Pretend that you are in mourning; put on your mourning clothes, and don't comb your hair. Act like a woman who has been in mourning for a long time. 3 Then go to the king and say to him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say.
4 The woman went to the king, bowed down to the ground in respect, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
5 “What do you want?” he asked her.
“I am a poor widow, sir,” she answered. “My husband is dead. 6 Sir, I had two sons, and one day they got into a quarrel out in the fields, where there was no one to separate them, and one of them killed the other. 7 And now, sir, all my relatives have turned against me and are demanding that I hand my son over to them, so that they can kill him for murdering his brother. If they do this, I will be left without a son. They will destroy my last hope and leave my husband without a son to keep his name alive.”
8 “Go back home,” the king answered, “and I will take care of the matter.”
9 “Your Majesty,” she said, “whatever you do, my family and I will take the blame; you and the royal family are innocent.”
10 The king replied, “If anyone threatens you, bring him to me, and he will never bother you again.”
11 She said, “Your Majesty, please pray to the Lord your God, so that my relative who is responsible for avenging the death of my son will not commit a greater crime by killing my other son.”
“I promise by the living Lord,” David replied, “that your son will not be harmed in the least.”
12 “Please, Your Majesty, let me say just one more thing,” the woman said.
“All right,” he answered.
13 She said to him, “Why have you done such a wrong to God's people? You have not allowed your own son to return from exile, and so you have condemned yourself by what you have just said. 14 We will all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which can't be gathered again. Even God does not bring the dead back to life, but the king can at least find a way to bring a man back from exile. 15 Now, Your Majesty, the reason I have come to speak to you is that the people threatened me, and so I said to myself that I would speak to you in the hope that you would do what I ask. 16 I thought you would listen to me and save me from the one who is trying to kill my son and me and so remove us from the land God gave his people. 17 I said to myself that your promise, sir, would make me safe, because the king is like God's angel and can distinguish good from evil. May the Lord your God be with you!”
18 The king answered, “I'm going to ask you a question, and you must tell me the whole truth.”
“Ask me anything, Your Majesty,” she answered.
19 “Did Joab put you up to this?” he asked her.
She answered, “I swear by all that is sacred, Your Majesty, that there is no way to avoid answering your question. It was indeed your officer Joab who told me what to do and what to say. 20 But he did it in order to straighten out this whole matter. Your Majesty is as wise as the angel of God and knows everything that happens.”
21 Later on the king said to Joab, “I have decided to do what you want. Go and get the young man Absalom and bring him back here.”
22 Joab threw himself to the ground in front of David in respect, and said, “God bless you, Your Majesty! Now I know that you are pleased with me, because you have granted my request.” 23 Then he got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 The king, however, gave orders that Absalom should not live in the palace. “I don't want to see him,” the king said. So Absalom lived in his own house and did not appear before the king.
Absalom Is Reconciled to David
25 There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to toe. 26 His hair was very thick, and he had to cut it once a year, when it grew too long and heavy. It would weigh about five pounds according to the royal standard of weights. 27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter named Tamar, a very beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king. 29 Then he sent for Joab, to ask him to go to the king for him; but Joab would not come. Again Absalom sent for him, and again Joab refused to come. 30 So Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab's field is next to mine, and it has barley growing in it. Go and set fire to it.” So they went and set the field on fire.
31 Joab went to Absalom's house and demanded, “Why did your servants set fire to my field?”
32 Absalom answered, “Because you wouldn't come when I sent for you. I wanted you to go to the king and ask for me: ‘Why did I leave Geshur and come here? It would have been better for me to have stayed there.’” And Absalom went on, “I want you to arrange for me to see the king, and if I'm guilty, then let him put me to death.”
33 So Joab went to King David and told him what Absalom had said. The king sent for Absalom, who went to him and bowed down to the ground in front of him. The king welcomed him with a kiss.
