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Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s mind was on Absalom.(A) Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner; put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.(B) Go to the king and speak to him as follows.” And Joab put the words into her mouth.(C)

When the woman of Tekoa came[a] to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance and said, “Help, O king!”(D) The king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead.(E) Your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field; there was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him. Now the whole family has risen against your servant. They say, ‘Give up the man who struck his brother, so that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he murdered, even if we destroy the heir as well.’ Thus they would quench my one remaining ember and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”(F)

Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.”(G) 10 The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.” 11 Then she said, “Please, may the king keep the Lord your God in mind, so that the avenger of blood may kill no more and my son not be destroyed.” He said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”(H)

12 Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.” 13 The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again.(I) 14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take away a life; he will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from his presence.[b](J) 15 Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. 16 For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would cut both me and my son off from the heritage of God.’ 17 Your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God, discerning good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”(K)

18 Then the king answered the woman, “Do not withhold from me anything I ask you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn right or left from anything that my lord the king has said. For it was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.(L) 20 In order to change the course of affairs your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”(M)

21 Then the king said to Joab, “Very well, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Joab prostrated himself with his face to the ground and did obeisance and blessed the king, and Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab set off, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.(N) 24 The king said, “Let him go to his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.(O)

David Forgives Absalom

25 Now in all Israel there was no one to be praised so much for his beauty as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.(P) 26 When he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.(Q) 27 There were born to Absalom three sons and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.(R)

28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem without coming into the king’s presence.(S) 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. He sent a second time, but Joab would not come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab rose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent word to you. Come here that I may send you to the king with the question, ‘Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.’ Now let me go into the king’s presence; if there is guilt in me, let him kill me!”(T) 33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.(U)

Absalom Usurps the Throne

15 After this Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.(V) Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the road into the gate, and when anyone brought a suit before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out and say, “From what city are you?” When the person said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,”(W) Absalom would say, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no one deputed by the king to hear you.” Absalom would also say, “If only I were judge in the land! Then all who had a suit or cause might come to me, and I would give them justice.”(X) Whenever people came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of them and kiss them. Thus Absalom did to every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.(Y)

At the end of four[c] years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron and pay the vow that I have made to the Lord.(Z) For your servant made a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram: If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord in Hebron.”[d](AA) The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron. 10 But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then shout: Absalom has become king at Hebron!” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom; they were invited guests, and they went in innocence, knowing nothing of the matter.(AB) 12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for[e] Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. The conspiracy grew in strength, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.(AC)

David Flees from Jerusalem

13 A messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the Israelites have gone after Absalom.”(AD) 14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him at Jerusalem, “Get up! Let us flee, or there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us, and bring disaster down upon us, and attack the city with the edge of the sword.”(AE) 15 The king’s officials said to the king, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king decides.” 16 So the king left, followed by all his household, except ten concubines whom he left behind to look after the house.(AF) 17 The king left, followed by all the people, and they stopped at the last house. 18 All his officials passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath passed on before the king.(AG)

19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also coming with us? Go back, and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home.(AH) 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your kinsfolk with you, and may the Lord show[f] steadfast love and faithfulness to you.”(AI) 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.”(AJ) 22 David said to Ittai, “Go then, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 The whole country wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

24 Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city.(AK) 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place where it stays.(AL) 26 But if he says, ‘I take no pleasure in you,’ here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”(AM) 27 The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look,[g] go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar,[h] with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan son of Abiathar.(AN) 28 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”(AO) 29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot, and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.(AP) 31 David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, “O Lord, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”(AQ)

Hushai Becomes David’s Spy

32 When David came to the summit, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head.(AR) 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.(AS) 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.(AT) 35 The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.(AU) 36 Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan, and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.”(AV) 37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. 14.4 Heb mss Gk Syr Vg: MT said
  2. 14.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 15.7 Gk Syr: Heb forty
  4. 15.8 Gk mss: Heb lacks in Hebron
  5. 15.12 Or he sent
  6. 15.20 Cn Compare Gk: Heb lacks may the Lord show
  7. 15.27 Gk: Heb Are you a seer or Do you see?
  8. 15.27 Cn: Heb lacks and Abiathar

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Joab(A) son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. So Joab sent someone to Tekoa(B) and had a wise woman(C) brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions.(D) Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab(E) put the words in her mouth.

When the woman from Tekoa went[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

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(F) for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir(G) as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left,(H) leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

The king said to the woman, “Go home,(I) and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon(J) me and my family,(K) and let the king and his throne be without guilt.(L)

10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger(M) of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair(N) of your son’s head will fall to the ground.(O)

12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”

“Speak,” he replied.

13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself,(P) for the king has not brought back his banished son?(Q) 14 Like water(R) spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die.(S) But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person(T) does not remain banished from him.

15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’(U)

17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel(V) of God in discerning(W) good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’”

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(X) 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(Y) like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.(Z)

21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king.(AA) Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head(AB)—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels[b] by the royal standard.

27 Three sons(AC) and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar,(AD) and she became a beautiful woman.

28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley(AE) there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

31 Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?(AF)

32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur?(AG) It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”(AH)

33 So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed(AI) Absalom.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 In the course of time,(AJ) Absalom provided himself with a chariot(AK) and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate.(AL) Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”(AM) And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land!(AN) Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”

Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts(AO) of the people of Israel.

At the end of four[c] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. While your servant was living at Geshur(AP) in Aram, I made this vow:(AQ) ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.[d]’”

The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets,(AR) then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel(AS) the Gilonite, David’s counselor,(AT) to come from Giloh,(AU) his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.(AV)

David Flees

13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee,(AW) or none of us will escape from Absalom.(AX) We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”

16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines(AY) to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites(AZ) and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

19 The king said to Ittai(BA) the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,(BB) an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander(BC) about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”[e](BD)

21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”(BE)

22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

23 The whole countryside wept aloud(BF) as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley,(BG) and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

24 Zadok(BH) was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark(BI) of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar(BJ) offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.

25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place(BK) again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.(BL)

27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand?(BM) Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan.(BN) You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords(BO) in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping(BP) as he went; his head(BQ) was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel(BR) is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai(BS) the Arkite(BT) was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust(BU) on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden(BV) to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’(BW) then you can help me by frustrating(BX) Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace.(BY) 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz(BZ) son of Zadok and Jonathan(CA) son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”

37 So Hushai,(CB) David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom(CC) was entering the city.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 14:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts spoke
  2. 2 Samuel 14:26 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  3. 2 Samuel 15:7 Some Septuagint manuscripts, Syriac and Josephus; Hebrew forty
  4. 2 Samuel 15:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew does not have in Hebron.
  5. 2 Samuel 15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you

Some Sayings of Jesus

17 Jesus[a] said to his disciples, “Occasions for sin[b] are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come!(A) It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to sin.[c](B) Be on your guard! If a brother or sister sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.(C) And if the same person sins against you seven times a day and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”(D)

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”(E) The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a[d] mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.(F)

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’?(G) Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Men with a Skin Disease

11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus[e] was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.(H) 12 As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance,(I) 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.(J) 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.(K) 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’s[f] feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.(L) 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? 18 Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 17.1 Gk He
  2. 17.1 Or stumbling
  3. 17.2 Or stumble
  4. 17.6 Gk faith as a grain of
  5. 17.11 Gk he
  6. 17.16 Gk his

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.(B) It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones(C) to stumble.(D) So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them;(E) and if they repent, forgive them.(F) Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”(G)

The apostles(H) said to the Lord,(I) “Increase our faith!”

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.(K)

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”(M)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem,(N) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.(O) 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b](P) met him. They stood at a distance(Q) 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,(R) have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”(S) And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God(T) in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.(U)

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”(V)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:3 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman.
  2. Luke 17:12 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.