2 Samuel 11
11
David’s Sin. 1At the turn of the year,#At the turn of the year: in the spring. the time when kings go to war, David sent out Joab along with his officers and all Israel, and they laid waste the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. David himself remained in Jerusalem.#2 Sm 10:7; 1 Chr 20:1. 2One evening David rose from his bed and strolled about on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; she was very beautiful. 3David sent people to inquire about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite, Joab’s armor-bearer.”#2 Sm 23:39. 4Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he took her to bed, at a time when she was just purified after her period; and she returned to her house.#Lv 15:19. 5But the woman had become pregnant; she sent a message to inform David, “I am pregnant.”
6So David sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David. 7And when he came, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was, and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well. 8David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” Uriah left the king’s house, and a portion from the king’s table was sent after him. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his own house. 10David was told, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So he said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why, then, did you not go down to your house?” 11Uriah answered David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my lord Joab and my lord’s servants are encamped in the open field. Can I go home to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the Lord lives and as you live, I will do no such thing.”#1 Sm 4:3–4. 12Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. On the following day, 13David summoned him, and he ate and drank with David, who got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his house. 14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab which he sent by Uriah. 15This is what he wrote in the letter: “Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce. Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.” 16So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the defenders were strong. 17When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab, some officers of David’s army fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18Then Joab sent David a report of all the details of the battle, 19instructing the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle, 20the king may become angry and say to you: ‘Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall above? 21Who killed Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal? Was it not a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall above, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ Then you in turn are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”#Jgs 9:50–54. 22The messenger set out, and on his arrival he reported to David everything Joab had sent him to tell.#In these verses the Greek text has David, angry with Joab, repeat exactly the questions Joab had foreseen in vv. 20–21. In v. 24 of our oldest Greek text, the messenger specifies that about eighteen men were killed. The Greek is considerably longer than the transmitted Hebrew text, suggesting that the Hebrew may have lost some sentences. 23He told David: “The men had the advantage over us and came out into the open against us, but we pushed them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall above, and some of the king’s servants died; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25David said to the messenger: “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this be a great evil in your sight, for the sword devours now here and now there. Strengthen your attack on the city and destroy it.’ Encourage him.”
26When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband had died, she mourned her lord. 27But once the mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But in the sight of the Lord what David had done was evil.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
2 Samuel 11
11
David Meets Bathsheba
1In the spring, when kings go out to war, David sent Joab, his officers, and all the Israelites out to destroy the Ammonites. Joab’s army surrounded their capital city, Rabbah.
David stayed in Jerusalem. 2One evening he got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his house. From there he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful, 3so David sent for his officers and asked them who she was. An officer answered, “That is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4David sent messengers to go and bring Bathsheba to him. She had just purified herself after her monthly time of bleeding. She went to David, he had sexual relations with her, and then she went back to her house. 5Later, Bathsheba became pregnant. She sent word to him saying, “I am pregnant.”
David Tries to Hide His Sin
6David sent a message to Joab. “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.”
So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7When Uriah came, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was going. 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go home and relax.#11:8 relax Literally, “wash your feet.””
So Uriah left the king’s palace. The king also sent a gift to Uriah. 9But Uriah did not go home. He slept outside the door of the king’s palace, as the rest of the king’s servants did. 10The servants told David, “Uriah did not go home.”
Then David said to Uriah, “You came from a long trip. Why did you not go home?”
11Uriah said to David, “The Holy Box and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are staying in tents. My lord Joab and my lord’s officers are camping out in the field. So it is not right for me to go home to eat and drink and sleep with my wife. As surely as you live, I will not do this.”
12David said to Uriah, “Stay here today. Tomorrow I will send you back to the battle.”
Uriah stayed in Jerusalem until the next morning. 13Then David called Uriah to come and see him. Uriah ate and drank with David. David got him drunk, but Uriah still did not go home. That evening, Uriah again slept at the palace with the rest of the king’s servants.
David Plans Uriah’s Death
14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and made Uriah carry the letter. 15In the letter David wrote: “Put Uriah on the front lines where the fighting is the hardest. Then leave him there alone, and let him be killed in battle.”
16Joab watched the city and saw where the bravest Ammonites were. He chose Uriah to go to that place. 17The men of the city came out to fight against Joab. Some of David’s men were killed. Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18Then Joab sent a report to David about what happened in the battle. 19Joab told the messenger to tell King David what had happened in the battle. 20“The king might get upset and ask, ‘Why did Joab’s army go that close to the city to fight? Surely he knows that there are men on the city walls who can shoot arrows down at his men? 21Surely he remembers that at Thebez a woman killed Abimelech son of Jerub Besheth when she threw the top part of a grinding stone down from the wall. So why did he go that close to the wall?’ If King David says something like that, tell him, ‘Your officer, Uriah the Hittite, also died.’”
22The messenger went in and told David everything Joab told him to say. 23The messenger told David, “The men of Ammon attacked us in the field. We fought them and chased them all the way to the city gate. 24Then the men on the city wall shot arrows at your officers. Some of your officers were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”
25David said to the messenger, “Give this message to Joab: ‘Don’t be too upset about this. A sword can kill one person as well as the next. Make a stronger attack against Rabbah and you will win.’ Encourage Joab with these words.”
David Marries Bathsheba
26Bathsheba heard that her husband Uriah had died, so she mourned for him. 27After her time of sadness, David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to a son for David. But the Lord did not like what David had done.
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