4 And the sovereign covered his face, and the sovereign cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Aḇshalom! O Aḇshalom, my son, my son!”
5 And Yo’aḇ came into the house to the sovereign, and said, “Today you have put to shame all your servants who today have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,
6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have made it clear today that you have neither commanders nor servants, for today I know that if Aḇshalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would be right in your eyes.
7 “And now, arise, go out and speak to the heart of your servants. For I swear by יהוה, if you do not go out, not one passes the night with you. And that is worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
8 So the sovereign rose up and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “Look, the sovereign is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the sovereign. As for Yisra’ĕl, they had fled, each one to his tent.
9 And it came to be, that all the people were contending throughout all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, saying, “The sovereign delivered us from the hand of the enemies, he rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Aḇshalom,
10 and Aḇshalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. And now, why are you silent about bringing back the sovereign?”