2 Samuel 11
11
1And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. 2And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; (for she was purified from her uncleanness;) and she returned unto her house. 5And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7And when Uriah was come unto him, David asked of him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered. 8And David said to Uriah, Go down thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. 9But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 10And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Art thou not come from a journey? wherefore didst thou not go down unto thine house? 11And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. 12And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. 16And it came to pass, when Joab kept watch upon the city, that he assigned Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men were. 17And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. 18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19and he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling all the things concerning the war unto the king, 20it shall be that, if the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore went ye so nigh unto the city to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? 21who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, that he died at Thebez? why went ye so nigh the wall? then shalt thou say, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 22So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23And the messenger said unto David, The men prevailed against us and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate. 24And the shooters shot at thy servants from off the wall; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 25Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him. 26And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband. 27And when the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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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