¹⁶ Then a wise woman called from the city, ‘Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, “Come here, I want to speak to you.”’ ¹⁷ He came near her; and the woman said, ‘Are you Joab?’ He answered, ‘I am.’ Then she said to him, ‘Listen to the words of your servant.’ He answered, ‘I am listening.’ ¹⁸ Then she said, ‘They used to say in the old days, “Let them inquire at Abel”; and so they would settle a matter.