15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth–ma´achah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Jo´ab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Jo´ab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Jo´ab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?
20 And Jo´ab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount E´phra-im, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Jo´ab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.