15 Joab's men heard that Sheba was there, and so they went and besieged the city. They built ramps of earth against the outer wall and also began to dig under the wall to make it fall down.
16 There was a wise woman in the city who shouted from the wall, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here; I want to speak with him.”
17 Joab went, and she asked, “Are you Joab?”“Yes, I am,” he answered.“Listen to me, sir,” she said.“I'm listening,” he answered.
18 She said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Go and get your answer in the city of Abel’—and that's just what they did.
19 Ours is a great city, one of the most peaceful and loyal in Israel. Why are you trying to destroy it? Do you want to ruin what belongs to the Lord?”
20 “Never!” Joab answered. “I will never ruin or destroy your city!
21 That is not our plan. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, who is from the hill country of Ephraim, started a rebellion against King David. Hand over this one man, and I will withdraw from the city.”“We will throw his head over the wall to you,” she said.