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18 The king said to the woman, “Please don’t refuse to answer the question I’m going to ask you.”

The woman responded, “Please speak, Your Majesty.”

19 “Did Joab put you up to this?” the king asked.

The woman answered, “I solemnly swear on your life, Your Majesty, you are absolutely right. Yes, your servant Joab ordered me ⌞to do this⌟. He told me to say exactly what I said. 20 Your servant Joab has done this to portray the matter in a different light. You are as wise as God’s Messenger, who knows everything on earth.”

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18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”

“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.

19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab(A) with you in all this?”

The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom(B) like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.(C)

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