Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 ^(A)Then it happened ^[a](B)in the spring, 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 sons of Ammon and ^(C)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

² Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on ^(D)the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not ^(E)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^(F)Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, ^(G)he lay with her; ^(H)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “^(I)I am pregnant.”

⁶ Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, ^(J)David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and ^[b]the people and the state of the war. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and ^(K)wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present from the king ^[c]was sent out after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept ^(L)at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ Now when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “^(M)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in ^[d]temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and ^(N)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” ¹² Then David said to Uriah, “^(O)Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the ^[e]next. ¹³ Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he ^(P)made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed ^(Q)with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ Now in the morning David ^(R)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ^15 (S)He had written in the letter, saying, “^[f]Place Uriah in the front line of the ^[g]fiercest battle and withdraw from him, ^(T)so that he may be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and ^(U)Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent and reported to David all the events of the war. ¹⁹ He charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, ²⁰ and if it happens that the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who ^(V)struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

²² So the messenger departed and came and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we ^[h]pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. ²⁴ Moreover, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” ²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing ^[i]displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle against the city stronger and overthrow it’; and so encourage him.”

²⁶ Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, ^(W)she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ When the time of mourning was over, David sent and ^[j]brought her to his house and ^(X)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But ^(Y)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.

The Temporal and Eternal

5 For we know that if ^[a]the ^(A)earthly ^(B)tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house ^(C)not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For indeed in this house we ^(D)groan, longing to be ^(E)clothed with our dwelling from heaven, ³ inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. ⁴ For indeed while we are in this tent, we ^(F)groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be ^(G)clothed, so that what is ^(H)mortal will be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who ^(I)gave to us the Spirit as a ^[b]pledge.

⁶ Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that ^(J)while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— ⁷ for ^(K)we walk by faith, not by ^[c]sight— ⁸ we are of good courage, I say, and ^(L)prefer rather to be absent from the body and ^(M)to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be ^(N)pleasing to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before ^(O)the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for ^[d]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

¹¹ Therefore, knowing the ^(P)fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are ^(Q)made manifest also in your consciences. ¹² We are not ^(R)again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an ^(S)occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. ¹³ For if we ^[e]are ^(T)beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ ^(U)controls us, having concluded this, that ^(V)one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer ^(W)live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

¹⁶ Therefore from now on we recognize no one ^[f](X)according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ ^[g]according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is ^(Y)in Christ, ^[h]he is ^(Z)a new creature; ^(AA)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. ¹⁸ Now ^(AB)all these things are from God, ^(AC)who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ^(AD)ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that ^(AE)God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, ^(AF)not counting their trespasses against them, and ^[i]He has ^[j]committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Therefore, we are ^(AG)ambassadors for Christ, ^(AH)as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be ^(AI)reconciled to God. ²¹ He made Him who ^(AJ)knew no sin to be ^(AK)sin on our behalf, so that we might become the ^(AL)righteousness of God in Him.

Their Ministry Commended

6 And ^(AM)working together with Him, ^(AN)we also urge you not to receive ^(AO)the grace of God in vain— ² for He says,

Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— ^3 (AQ)giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, ⁴ but in everything ^(AR)commending ourselves as ^[k](AS)servants of God, ^(AT)in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, ⁵ in ^(AU)beatings, in imprisonments, in ^(AV)tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^(AW)hunger, ⁶ in purity, in ^(AX)knowledge, in ^(AY)patience, in kindness, in the ^(AZ)Holy Spirit, in ^(BA)genuine love, ⁷ in ^(BB)the word of truth, in ^(BC)the power of God; by ^(BD)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, ⁸ by glory and ^(BE)dishonor, by ^(BF)evil report and good report; regarded as ^(BG)deceivers and yet ^(BH)true; ⁹ as unknown ^[l]yet well-known, as ^(BI)dying ^[m]yet behold, ^(BJ)we live; as ^[n]punished ^[o]yet not put to death, ¹⁰ as ^(BK)sorrowful yet always ^(BL)rejoicing, as ^(BM)poor yet making many rich, as ^(BN)having nothing ^[p]yet possessing ^(BO)all things.

^11 (BP)Our mouth ^[q]has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our ^(BQ)heart is opened wide. ¹² You are not restrained ^[r]by us, but ^(BR)you are restrained in your own ^[s]affections. ¹³ Now in a like ^(BS)exchange—I speak as to ^(BT)children—open wide to us also.

^14 (BU)Do not be ^[t]bound together with ^(BV)unbelievers; for what ^(BW)partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ Or what ^(BX)harmony has Christ with ^[u]Belial, or ^[v]what has a ^(BY)believer in common with an ^(BZ)unbeliever? ¹⁶ Or ^(CA)what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are ^(CB)the temple of ^(CC)the living God; just as God said,

God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

For the choir director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.