15 Joab and his troops came and surrounded Abel, so that no one could go in or come out. They made a dirt ramp up to the town wall and then started to use a battering ram to knock the wall down.
16 A wise woman shouted from the top of the wall, “Listen to me! Listen to me! I have to talk to Joab! Tell him to come here!”
17 When he came, the woman said, “Are you Joab?”“Yes, I am,” he answered.She said, “Please, listen to what I have to say.”“All right,” he said. “I'll listen.”
18 She said, “Long ago people used to say, ‘If you want good advice, go to the town of Abel to get it.’ The answers they got here were all that was needed to settle any problem.
19 We are Israelites, and we want peace! You can trust us. Why are you trying to destroy a town that's like a mother in Israel? Why do you want to wipe out the Lord's people?”
20 Joab answered, “No, no! I'm not trying to wipe you out or destroy your town!
21 That's not it at all. There's a man in your town from the hill country of Ephraim. His name is Sheba, and he is the leader of a rebellion against King David. Turn him over to me, and we will leave your town alone.”The woman told Joab, “We will throw his head over the wall.”