2 Samuel 14:5-12

5The king asked her, ‘What is your trouble?’ She said, ‘My husband is dead, sir, and I am a widow.

6I had two sons. One day, they were fighting in the fields. There was nobody near to stop them. One son knocked down the other son and killed him.

7Now all my relatives have turned against me. They want to take my son from me, because he killed his brother. They say that he must die. That is the punishment that he deserves. But if they do that, I will have no son. My husband will have no descendants, so the name of our family will not continue.’

8The king said to the woman, ‘Go to your home. I will make sure that your son is safe.’

9Then the woman said to the king, ‘My lord the king, I pray that nobody will think that you have done anything wrong. They should call me guilty, but not you or your family.’

10The king replied, ‘If anyone says anything against you, bring him to me. After that, he will not cause you any more trouble.’

11Then the woman said, ‘Sir, please stop my relative from punishing my son with death. I do not want this son to die as well as my other son. Please promise me in the name of the Lord your God that it will not happen.’ The king replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I promise that nobody will touch even one hair of your son's head.’

12Then the woman said, ‘Please sir, there is one other thing that I want to tell you.’ King David said, ‘Tell me.’