⁴ And when the woman of Tekoa ^[a]spoke to the king, she ^(A)fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, ^(B)“Help, O king!”

⁵ Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?”

And she answered, ^(C)“Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. ⁶ Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. ⁷ And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him ^(D)for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth.”

⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”

⁹ And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, let ^(E)the ^[b]iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, ^(F)and the king and his throne be guiltless.”

¹⁰ So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you anymore.”

¹¹ Then she said, “Please let the king remember the Lord your God, and do not permit ^(G)the avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.”

And he said, ^(H)“As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”