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The king asked her, “[a]What is the matter?” She said, “Truly I am a widow; my husband is dead. Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled and fought in the field. There was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him. Now behold, the entire family has risen against your maidservant, and they say, ‘Hand over the one who killed his brother, so that we may [b]put him to death [to pay] for the life of his brother whom he killed and destroy the heir also.’ By doing this they will extinguish my coal that is left, leaving my husband without a name or a remnant (heir) on the face of the earth.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 14:5 Lit What’s with you.
  2. 2 Samuel 14:7 The custom of the time permitted a near relative of the victim to kill the perpetrator.

The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death(A) for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir(B) as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left,(C) leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

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