18 The king answered the woman, "I must ask you something—don’t hide anything from me!"The woman said, "Please, my master and king, speak."
19 So the king said, "Has Joab put you up to this?"The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my master and king, no one can deviate a bit from whatever my master and king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who directed me, and it was Joab who told your female servant to say all these things.
20 Your servant Joab did this to change the way things look. But my master’s wisdom is like the wisdom of one of God’s own messengers—he knows everything that takes place in the land."
21 So the king said to Joab, "All right then. I will do it. Go and bring back my boy Absalom."
22 Joab fell facedown, bowing low out of respect, and he blessed the king."Today your servant knows that you think well of me, my master and king," Joab said, "because the king has followed up on his servant’s recommendation."
23 So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24 The king said, "He must go straight to his own house. He must not see my face." So Absalom went straight to his own house and did not see the king.