"I beg you," he said, "not to be angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten were found there?" And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."
Then Judah, approaching closer, said confidently: "I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak a word in your ears, and do not be angry with your servant. For you are next to Pharaoh.
And she said, "Let the king remember the Lord his God, so that close blood relatives may not be multiplied in order to take revenge, and so that they may by no means kill my son." And he said, "As the Lord lives, not one hair from your son shall fall to the ground."
And the woman said: "Why have you thought such a thing against the people of God, and why has the king spoken this word, so that he sins and does not lead back the one whom he rejected?
And when he had drawn near to her, she said to him, "Are you Joab?" And he responded, "I am." And she spoke in this way to him, "Listen to the words of your handmaid." He responded, "I am listening."
Certainly, O Lord, you are just. But if I may contend with you, while still speaking what is just to you: Why does the way of the impious prosper? Why is it well with all those who transgress and act unfairly?
And she fell at his feet, and she said: "May this iniquity be upon me, my lord. I beg you, let your handmaid speak to your ears, and listen to the words of your servant.