2 Samuel 11
Common English Bible
David and Bathsheba
11 In the spring,[a] when kings[b] go off to war, David sent Joab, along with his servants and all the Israelites, and they destroyed the Ammonites, attacking the city of Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening, David got up from his couch and was pacing back and forth on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone and inquired about the woman. The report came back: “Isn’t this Eliam’s daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers to take her. When she came to him, he had sex with her. (Now she had been purifying herself after her monthly period.) Then she returned home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
6 Then David sent a message to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about the welfare of Joab and the army and how the battle was going. 8 Then David told Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”
Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 However, Uriah slept at the palace entrance with all his master’s servants. He didn’t go down to his own house. 10 David was told, “Uriah didn’t go down to his own house,” so David asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just returned from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 “The chest and Israel and Judah are all living in tents,” Uriah told David. “And my master Joab and my master’s troops are camping in the open field. How[c] could I go home and eat, drink, and have sex with my wife? I swear on your very life,[d] I will not do that!”
12 Then David told Uriah, “Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. The next day 13 David called for him, and he ate and drank, and David got him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out to sleep in the same place, alongside his master’s servants, but he did not go down to his own home.
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 He wrote in the letter, “Place Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle, and then pull back from him so that he will be struck down and die.”
16 So as Joab was attacking the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew there were strong warriors. 17 When the city’s soldiers came out and attacked Joab, some of the people from David’s army fell. Uriah the Hittite was also killed. 18 Joab sent a complete report of the battle to David.
19 “When you have finished reporting all the news of the battle to the king,” Joab instructed the messenger, 20 “if the king gets angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Jerubbaal’s son Abimelech?[e] didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on top of him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ then say: ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.’”
22 So the messenger set off, and when he arrived he reported to David everything Joab sent him to say.
23 “The men overpowered us,” the messenger told David. “They came out against us in the open field, but we fought against them[f] up to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Archers shot down on your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants died. And your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.”
25 David said to the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t be upset about this because the sword is that way: taking the life of this person or that person. Continue attacking the city and destroy it!’ Encourage Joab!”
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her back to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son.
But what David had done was evil in the Lord’s eyes.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 11:1 Or At the turn of the year
- 2 Samuel 11:1 LXX, Tg, Vulg; MT messengers
- 2 Samuel 11:11 LXXL; MT lacks How.
- 2 Samuel 11:11 Or I swear on your life and your soul’s life; cf LXX
- 2 Samuel 11:21 LXX, Syr, Judg 7:1; MT Jerub-besheth
- 2 Samuel 11:23 Or we were upon them
2 Samuel 11
Easy-to-Read Version
David Meets Bathsheba
11 In 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. 2 One 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, 3 so 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.”
4 David 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. 5 Later, Bathsheba became pregnant. She sent word to him saying, “I am pregnant.”
David Tries to Hide His Sin
6 David sent a message to Joab. “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.”
So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go home and relax.[a]”
So Uriah left the king’s palace. The king also sent a gift to Uriah. 9 But Uriah did not go home. He slept outside the door of the king’s palace, as the rest of the king’s servants did. 10 The 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?”
11 Uriah 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.”
12 David said to Uriah, “Stay here today. Tomorrow I will send you back to the battle.”
Uriah stayed in Jerusalem until the next morning. 13 Then 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
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and made Uriah carry the letter. 15 In 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.”
16 Joab watched the city and saw where the bravest Ammonites were. He chose Uriah to go to that place. 17 The men of the city came out to fight against Joab. Some of David’s men were killed. Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18 Then Joab sent a report to David about what happened in the battle. 19 Joab 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? 21 Surely 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.’”
22 The messenger went in and told David everything Joab told him to say. 23 The 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. 24 Then the men on the city wall shot arrows at your officers. Some of your officers were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”
25 David 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
26 Bathsheba heard that her husband Uriah had died, so she mourned for him. 27 After 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.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 11:8 relax Literally, “wash your feet.”
2 Samuel 11
Young's Literal Translation
11 And it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers -- that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling in Jerusalem,
2 and it cometh to pass, at evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman [is] of very good appearance,
3 and David sendeth and inquireth about the woman, and saith, `Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?'
4 And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her -- and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness -- and she turneth back unto her house;
5 and the woman conceiveth, and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, `I [am] conceiving.'
6 And David sendeth unto Joab, `Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David;
7 and Uriah cometh unto him, and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war.
8 And David saith to Uriah, `Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king,
9 and Uriah lieth down at the opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not gone down unto his house.
10 And they declare to David, saying, `Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah, `Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy house?'
11 And Uriah saith unto David, `The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I -- I go in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife! -- thy life, and the life of thy soul -- if I do this thing.'
12 And David saith unto Uriah, `Abide in this [place] also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow,
13 and David calleth for him, and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and unto his house he hath not gone down.
14 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of Uriah;
15 and he writeth in the letter, saying, `Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.'
16 And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men [are];
17 and the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and there fall [some] of the people, of the servants of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite.
18 And Joab sendeth and declareth to David all the matters of the war,
19 and commandeth the messenger, saying, `At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto the king,
20 then, it hath been, if the king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall?
21 Who smote Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'
22 And the messenger goeth, and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him,
23 and the messenger saith unto David, `Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,
24 and those shooting shoot at thy servants from off the wall, and [some] of the servants of the king are dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.
25 And David saith unto the messenger, `Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down -- and strengthen thou him.'
26 And the wife of Uriah heareth that Uriah her husband [is] dead, and lamenteth for her lord;
27 and the mourning passeth by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah.
2 Samuel 11
Expanded Bible
David Sins with Bathsheba
11 In the spring, when the kings normally went out to war, David sent out Joab, his ·servants [officers; army], and all the Israelites. They ·destroyed [massacred; ravaged] the Ammonites and ·attacked [besieged] the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. 2 One ·evening [afternoon] David got up from his ·bed [midday rest] and walked around on the roof [C the flat roofs of Israelite houses were used for living space] of ·his palace [L the king’s house]. While he was on the roof, he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful. 3 So David sent his servants to find out who she was. A servant answered, “That woman is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite [C Hittites were foreigners, but he joined the Israelite cause].” 4 So David sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him. When she came to him, he ·had sexual relations [L lay] with her. (Now Bathsheba had purified herself from her ·monthly period [L uncleanness; Lev. 15:19–24].) Then she went back to her house. 5 But Bathsheba ·became pregnant [conceived] and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent a message to Joab: “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go home and ·rest [L wash your feet; C perhaps a euphemism for sex].”
So Uriah left the ·palace [L king’s house], and the king sent a gift to him. 9 But Uriah did not go home. Instead, he slept outside the door of the palace as all the king’s ·officers [guard; L servants] did.
10 The officers told David, “Uriah did not go home.”
Then David said to Uriah, “You came from a long trip. Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to him, “The Ark and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are staying in ·tents [booths; C temporary shelters]. My ·master [lord; commander] Joab and his officers are camping out in the fields. ·It isn’t right for me to [L How can I…?] go home to eat and drink and ·have sexual relations [L lie] with my wife [C thus rendering himself ritually unclean and unable to go into the presence of the Ark; Lev. 15:16–18]!”
12 David said to Uriah, “Stay here today. Tomorrow I’ll send you back to the battle.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David called Uriah to come to see him, so Uriah ate and drank with David. David made Uriah drunk, but he still did not go home. That evening Uriah again slept with the king’s ·officers [guard; L servants].
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. 15 In the letter David wrote, “Put Uriah on the front lines where the fighting is ·worst [fiercest; hardest] and ·leave him there alone [then pull back/withdraw]. Let him be ·killed in battle [L struck down and die].”
16 Joab ·watched [or besieged] the city and saw where its ·strongest defenders [valiant men] were and put Uriah there. 17 When the men of the city came out to fight against Joab, some of David’s men ·were killed [L fell]. And Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18 Then Joab sent David a complete ·account [report] of the ·war [battle; fighting]. 19 Joab told the messenger, “Tell King David what happened in the ·war [battle; fighting]. 20 After you finish, the king may be angry and ask, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the city wall? 21 Do you remember who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth [C another name for Gideon]? It was a woman on the city wall. She threw a large stone for grinding grain on Abimelech and killed him there in Thebez [Judg. 9:50–57]. Why did you go so near the wall?’ If King David asks that, tell him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”
22 The messenger left and went to David and told him everything Joab had told him to say. 23 The messenger told David, “The men of Ammon were ·winning [gaining an advantage over us]. They came out and attacked us in the field, but we ·fought [drove; chased] them back to the city gate. 24 The archers on the city wall shot at your servants, and some of ·your men [L the king’s servants] were killed. Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”
25 David said to the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t be ·upset [discouraged; troubled] about this. The sword ·kills everyone the same [L devours first one and then another]. ·Make a stronger attack [Fight harder; Press your attack] against the city and capture it.’ Encourage Joab with these words.”
26 When ·Bathsheba [L the wife of Uriah] heard that her husband was dead, she ·cried [mourned] for him. 27 After she finished her time of ·sadness [mourning], David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
2 Samuel 11
Christian Standard Bible
David’s Adultery with Bathsheba
11 In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.(A)
2 One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. 3 So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba,(B) daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah(C) the Hethite?” [a]
4 David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness.(D) Afterward, she returned home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to inform David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hethite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
10 When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers[b] are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!” (E)
12 “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
Uriah’s Death Arranged
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote:
Put Uriah(F) at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.
16 When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. 17 Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hethite also died.
18 Joab sent someone to report to David all the details of the battle. 19 He commanded the messenger, “When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle— 20 if the king’s anger gets stirred up and he asks you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall? 21 At Thebez, who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth?[c][d] Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the top of the wall so that he died?(G) Why did you get so close to the wall?’—then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hethite is dead also.’” 22 Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger reported to David, “The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the city gate. 24 However, the archers shot down on your servants from the top of the wall, and some of the king’s servants died. Your servant Uriah the Hethite is also dead.”
25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him.”
26 When Uriah’s(H) wife heard that her husband, Uriah, had died, she mourned for him.[e] 27 When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil.(I)
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