^{17 Ref} Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

^{18 Ref} Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

^{19 Ref} And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:

^{20 Ref} To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

^{21 Ref} And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

^{22 Ref} And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.

^{23 Ref} So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

^{24 Ref} And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.