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2 Samuel 11
New American Standard Bible

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 brought destruction on the sons of Ammon and (C)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

2 Now at evening time David got up 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 servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not (E)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of (F)Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers and [b]had her brought, and when she came to him, (G)he slept with her; (H)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, “(I)I am pregnant.”

6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, (J)David asked about Joab’s well-being and [c]that of the people, and the condition of the war. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and (K)wash your feet.” So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king [d]was sent 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 informed David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 And Uriah said to David, “(M)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in [e]temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and (N)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and to sleep 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 back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the day after. 13 Now David summoned [f]Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he (P)made [g]Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed (Q)with his lord’s servants, and he still did not go down to his house.

14 So 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 [h]the following: “[i]Station Uriah on the front line of the [j]fiercest battle and pull back from him, (T)so that he may be struck and killed.” 16 So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he [k]stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And 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 a messenger and reported to David all the events of the war. 19 He ordered the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, 20 then it shall be that if the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who (V)struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you move against the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”

22 So the messenger departed and came and reported to David everything 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 [l]pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.” 25 Then David said to the messenger, “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing [m]displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; [n]fight with determination against the city and overthrow it’; and thereby encourage him.”

26 Now when Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, (W)she mourned for her husband. 27 When the time of mourning was over, David sent servants and [o]had her brought 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.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:1 Lit at the return of the year
  2. 2 Samuel 11:4 Lit took her
  3. 2 Samuel 11:7 Lit welfare of
  4. 2 Samuel 11:8 Lit went out
  5. 2 Samuel 11:11 Or huts
  6. 2 Samuel 11:13 Lit him
  7. 2 Samuel 11:13 Lit him
  8. 2 Samuel 11:15 Lit saying
  9. 2 Samuel 11:15 Lit Give
  10. 2 Samuel 11:15 Lit severe
  11. 2 Samuel 11:16 Lit gave
  12. 2 Samuel 11:23 Lit were upon
  13. 2 Samuel 11:25 Lit be evil in your sight
  14. 2 Samuel 11:25 Lit seize your battle against
  15. 2 Samuel 11:27 Lit brought her
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2 Samuel 11
Wycliffe Bible

11 And it was done, when the year turned again, in that time in which kings be wont to go forth to battles, David sent forth Joab, and with him his servants, and all Israel; and they destroyed the sons of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah; and David dwelled in Jerusalem. (And it was done, when the year turned again, at the time when kings be wont to go forth to battle, David sent out Joab, and with him his officers, and all of Israel’s army; and they destroyed the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah; but David stayed in Jerusalem.)

2 While these things were done, it befelled, that David rose in a day from his bed after midday, and walked in the solar of the king’s house; and he saw a woman washing herself even against him upon her solar; and the woman was full fair. (While these things were done, it befell one day, that David rose from his bed after midday, and walked on the roof of his palace; and he saw a woman opposite him washing herself on her roof; and the woman was truly beautiful.)

3 Therefore the king sent, and inquired, what woman it was; and it was told to him that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, and (that) she was the wife of Uriah (the) Hittite.

4 Then by messengers sent, David took her; and when she entered to him, he slept with her, and anon she was hallowed from her uncleanness[a]. And she turned again into her house, (Then David sent messengers, who brought her to him; and after she came to him, he slept with her, and at once she was hallowed from her uncleanness. And she returned to her house,)

5 with a child conceived; and she sent, and told to David, and said, I have conceived.

6 And David sent to Joab, and said, Send thou Uriah (the) Hittite to me; and Joab sent Uriah to David.

7 And Uriah came to David; and David asked, how rightfully Joab did and the people, and how the battle was (ad)ministered, or served. (And Uriah came to David; and David asked him how well Joab and the men were doing, and how the battle was going.)

8 And David said to Uriah, Go into thine house, and wash thy feet. [And] Uriah went out from the house of the king, and the king’s meat followed him (and the king’s gift followed him home).

9 Soothly Uriah slept before the gate of the king’s house with other servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. (But Uriah slept by the palace gate with other servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.)

10 And it was told to David of men, saying, Uriah went not to his house (And it was told to David by men, saying, Uriah did not go down to his house). And David said to Uriah, Whether thou camest not from the way? why wentest thou not down into thine house?

11 And Uriah said to David, The ark of God, [and] Israel, and Judah (all) dwell in tents, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord dwell upon the face of the earth, and shall I (then) go into mine house, to eat and drink, and sleep with my wife? By thine health, and by the health of thy soul, I shall not do this thing.

12 Therefore David said to Uriah, Dwell thou here also today, and tomorrow I shall deliver thee. Uriah dwelled in Jerusalem in that day, and the tother (And so Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day, and the next day as well).

13 And David called him, that he should eat and drink before him, and David made drunken Uriah (and David made Uriah drunk); and he went out in the eventide, and slept in his bed with the servants of his lord; and went not down into his house.

14 Therefore when the morrowtide was made, David wrote [an] epistle to Joab, and sent (it) by the hand of Uriah,

15 and wrote in the epistle, Put ye Uriah even against the battle, where the battle is strongest, that is, where the adversaries be (the) strong(est), and forsake ye him, that he be smitten and perish (and leave ye him there, so that he can be struck down and die).

16 Therefore when Joab besieged the city, he setted Uriah in the place where he knew that (the) strongest men were.

17 And [the] men went out of the city, and fought against Joab, and they killed of the people of the servants of David, and also Uriah (the) Hittite was dead there. (And the men came out of the city, and fought against Joab, and they killed some of David’s officers, and Uriah the Hittite was also killed.)

18 Therefore Joab sent, and told all the words of the battle; (And so Joab sent a message to David, telling him all about the battle;)

19 and he commanded to the messenger, and said, When thou hast fulfilled all the words of the battle to the king (When thou hast finished telling the king everything about the battle),

20 if thou seest, that he is wroth, and saith, Why nighed ye to the wall to fight? whether ye knew not, that many darts, (or arrows,) (would) be sent out from the wall above?

21 who smote Abimelech, the son of Jerubbesheth? whether not a woman sent on him a gobbet of a millstone from the wall, and killed him in Thebez? why nighed ye beside the wall? thou shalt say, Also thy servant, Uriah (the) Hittite, died. (do ye not recall who struck down Abimelech, the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman send down a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall above, and killed him there in Thebez? why did ye go beside the wall? thou shalt say, And thy officer, Uriah the Hittite, also died.)

22 Therefore the messenger went, [and came] (to the king), and told to David all things which Joab had commanded to him.

23 And the messenger said to David, [The] Men had the mastery against us, and they went out to us into the field; and with great fierceness we pursued them unto the gate of the city.

24 And [the] archers sent (out) darts to thy servants from the wall above, and some of the king’s servants be dead; and also thy servant, Uriah (the) Hittite, is dead. (And their archers sent out arrows at thy servants, or thy officers, from the wall above, and some of the king’s servants were killed; and thy servant, Uriah the Hittite, also died.)

25 And David said to the messenger, Thou shalt say these things to Joab, This thing break not thee; for the hap of battle is diverse, and sword wasteth now this man, [and] now that man; comfort thy fighters against the city, that thou destroy it, and excite thou them. (And David said to the messenger, Thou shalt say these things to Joab, Do not let this thing break thee; for the happenstance of battle is diverse, and the sword wasteth now this man, and now that one; make thy fighting men strong against the city, so that thou destroy it, yea, encourage thou them.)

26 And the wife of Uriah heard, that Uriah her husband was dead, and she bewailed him.

27 And when the mourning was passed, David sent, and brought her into his house; and she was made (a) wife to him, and she childed a son to him. And this word that David had done displeased before the Lord (But this thing that David had done greatly displeased the Lord).

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:4 That is, from (the) flux of unclean blood that should come till to the child bearing, for she conceived in that lying-by.
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2 Samuel 11
New International Version

David and Bathsheba

11 In the spring,(A) at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab(B) out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.(C) They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.(D) But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof(E) of the palace. From the roof he saw(F) a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba,(G) the daughter of Eliam(H) and the wife of Uriah(I) the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her.(J) She came to him, and he slept(K) with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.)(L) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah(M) the Hittite.” And Joab sent him 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 down to your house and wash your feet.”(N) So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark(O) and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love(P) to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter(Q) to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down(R) and die.(S)”

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek(T) son of Jerub-Besheth[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,(U) so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning(V) was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased(W) the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:11 Or staying at Sukkoth
  2. 2 Samuel 11:21 Also known as Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon)
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