2 Samuel 11
11
David and Bathsheba
1 #
1 Chr 20.1
The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, David sent out Joab with his officers and the Israelite army; they defeated the Ammonites and besieged the city of Rabbah. But David himself stayed in Jerusalem.
2One day, late in the afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked about up there, he saw a woman having a bath. She was very beautiful. 3So he sent a messenger to find out who she was, and learnt that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. 4David sent messengers to fetch her; they brought her to him and he made love to her. (She had just finished her monthly ritual of purification.) Then she went back home. 5Afterwards she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him.
6David then sent a message to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7When Uriah arrived, David asked him if Joab and the troops were well, and how the fighting was going. 8Then he said to Uriah, “Go home and rest a while.” Uriah left, and David sent a present to his home. 9But Uriah did not go home; instead he slept at the palace gate with the king's guards. 10When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he asked him, “You have just returned after a long absence; why didn't you go home?”
11Uriah answered, “The men of Israel and Judah are away at the war, and the Covenant Box is with them; my commander Joab and his officers are camping out in the open. How could I go home, eat and drink, and sleep with my wife? By all that's sacred, I swear that I could never do such a thing!”
12So David said, “Then stay here the rest of the day, and tomorrow I'll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13David invited him to supper and made him drunk. But again that night Uriah did not go home; instead he slept on his blanket#11.13 blanket; or bunk. in the palace guardroom.
14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. 15He wrote: “Put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed.” 16So while Joab was besieging the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy was strong. 17The enemy troops came out of the city and fought Joab's forces; some of David's officers were killed, and so was Uriah.
18Then Joab sent a report to David telling him about the battle, 19and he instructed the messenger, “After you have told the king all about the battle, 20he may get angry and ask you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight them? Didn't you realize that they would shoot arrows from the walls? 21#Judg 9.53Don't you remember how Abimelech son of Gideon was killed? It was at Thebez, where a woman threw a millstone down from the wall and killed him. Why, then, did you go so near the wall?’ If the king asks you this, tell him, ‘Your officer Uriah was also killed.’ ”
22So the messenger went to David and told him what Joab had commanded him to say. 23He said, “Our enemies were stronger than we were and came out of the city to fight us in the open, but we drove them back to the city gate. 24Then they shot arrows at us from the wall, and some of Your Majesty's officers were killed; your officer Uriah was also killed.”
25David said to the messenger, “Encourage Joab and tell him not to be upset, since you never can tell who will die in battle. Tell him to launch a stronger attack on the city and capture it.”
26When Bathsheba heard that her husband had been killed, she mourned for him. 27When the time of mourning was over, David sent for her to come to the palace; she became his wife and bore him a son. But the LORD was not pleased with what David had done.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
2 Samuel 11
11
David Takes Bathsheba
(1 Chronicles 20:1)
1In the spring, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, his mercenaries, and Israel’s army ⌞to war⌟. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem.
2Now, when evening came, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the royal palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and she was very pretty. 3David sent someone to ask about the woman. The man said, “She’s Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4So David sent messengers and took her. She came to him, and he went to bed with her. (She had just cleansed herself after her monthly period.) Then she went home. 5The woman had become pregnant. So she sent someone to tell David that she was pregnant.
6Then David sent a messenger to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the troops were and how the war was going.
8“Go home,” David said to Uriah, “and wash your feet.” Uriah left the royal palace, and the king sent a present to him. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace among his superior’s mercenaries. He didn’t go home.
10When they told David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David asked Uriah, “Didn’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”
11Uriah answered David, “The ark and ⌞the army of⌟ Israel and Judah are in temporary shelters, and my commander Joab and Your Majesty’s mercenaries are living in the field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? I solemnly swear, as sure as you’re living, I won’t do this!”
12David said to Uriah, “Then stay here today, and tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But that evening Uriah went to lie down on his bed among his superior’s mercenaries. He didn’t go home.
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is heaviest. Then abandon him so that he’ll be struck down and die.”
16Since Joab had kept the city under observation, he put Uriah at the place where he knew the experienced warriors were. 17The men of the city came out and fought Joab. Some of the people, namely, some of David’s mercenaries, fell and died—including Uriah the Hittite.
18Then Joab sent ⌞a messenger⌟ to report to David all the details of the battle. 19And he commanded the messenger, “When you finish telling the king about the battle, 20the king may become angry. He might ask you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? 21Who killed Jerubbesheth’s #11:21 Or “Jerubbaal’s”; see Judges 9:1. son Abimelech? Didn’t a woman on the wall of Thebez throw a small millstone at him and kill him? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ If the king asks this, then say, ‘Your man Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’ ”
22The messenger left, and when he arrived, he reported to David everything Joab told him to say.#11:22 Greek adds, “And David was angry with Joab. ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know you would be shot at from the wall? Who killed Abimelech, Jerubbaal’s son? Didn’t a woman throw a millstone on him from the wall? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ ” 23The messenger said, “Their men overpowered us and came to attack us in the field. Then we forced them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24The archers on the wall shot down at your mercenaries, and some of Your Majesty’s mercenaries died. Your man Uriah the Hittite also is dead.”
25David said to the messenger, “This is what you are to say to Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing trouble you, because a sword can kill one person as easily as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage him.”
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. 27When her mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to his home, and she became his wife. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord considered David’s actions evil.
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