16 For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the ^ainheritance of God.’  ‡

17 Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for ^aas the angel of God, so is my lord the king in ^bdiscerning good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.’ ”  ‡

19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and ^ahe put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.  ‡

20 To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, ^aaccording to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.”  ‡