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.

Nathan Rebukes David

12 Then the Lord sent ^(Z)Nathan to David. And ^(AA)he came to him and ^[p]said,

⁵ Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this certainly ^[s](AC)deserves to die! ⁶ So he must make restitution for the lamb ^(AD)four times over, since he did this thing and ^[t]had no compassion.”

⁷ Nathan then said to David, “^(AE)You yourself are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(AF)It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I also gave you ^(AG)your master’s house and put your master’s wives ^[u]into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you ^[v]many more things like these! ⁹ Why ^(AH)have you despised the word of the Lord, by doing evil in His sight? ^(AI)You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you ^(AJ)have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now then, ^(AK)the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; ^(AL)I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in ^[w]broad daylight. ¹² Indeed, ^(AM)you did it secretly, but ^(AN)I will do this thing before all Israel, and ^[x]in open daylight.’” ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “^(AO)I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has ^(AP)allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, since by this deed you have ^(AQ)shown utter disrespect for the ^[y]Lord, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house.

Loss of a Child

Later the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s ^[z]widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. ¹⁶ David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David ^(AR)fasted and went and ^(AS)lay all night on the ground. ^17 (AT)The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. ¹⁸ Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to ^[aa]us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David got up from the ground, ^(AU)washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and ^(AV)worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was ^[ab]alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” ²² And he said, “While the child was still alive, ^(AW)I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘^(AX)Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ ²³ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? ^(AY)I am going to him, but ^(AZ)he will not return to me.”

Solomon Born

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and ^[ac](BA)he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him ^[ad]Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

War Again

^26 (BB)Now Joab fought against ^(BC)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city. ²⁷ Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters. ²⁸ Now then, gather the rest of the people and camp opposite the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.” ²⁹ So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. ³⁰ Then ^(BD)he took the crown of ^[ae]their king from his head; and its weight was a ^[af]talent of gold, and it had a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great amounts. ³¹ He also brought out the people who were in it, and ^(BE)put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made ^[ag]others ^[ah]serve at the brick ^[ai]works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

War with Philistine Giants

20 ^(A)Then it happened ^[a]in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. And ^(B)Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it. ^2 (C)David took the crown of ^[b]their king from his head, and he found it to weigh a ^[c]talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoils of the city, a very great amount. ³ He brought out the people who were in it, ^(D)and ^[d]put them to work at saws, iron picks, and axes. And David did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

^4 (E)Now it came about after this, that war ^[e]broke out at ^[f]Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite ^[g]killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the ^[h]giants, and they were subdued. ⁵ And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of ^(F)Jair ^[i]killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the ^(G)shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ⁶ Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants. ⁷ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, ^[j]killed him. ⁸ These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when ^[a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

Paul Is Sent to Rome

27 Now when it was decided that ^(A)we ^(B)would sail for ^(C)Italy, they proceeded to turn Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan ^[a](D)cohort, named Julius. ² And we boarded an Adramyttian ship that was about to sail to the regions along the coast of ^[b](E)Asia, and put out to sea accompanied by ^(F)Aristarchus, a ^(G)Macedonian of ^(H)Thessalonica. ³ The next day we put in at ^(I)Sidon; and Julius ^(J)treated Paul with consideration and ^(K)allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴ From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of ^(L)Cyprus, because ^(M)the winds were contrary. ⁵ When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of ^(N)Cilicia and ^(O)Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an ^(P)Alexandrian ship sailing for ^(Q)Italy, and he put us aboard it. ⁷ When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, ^(R)since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of ^(S)Crete, off Salmone; ⁸ and with difficulty ^(T)sailing past it, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

⁹ When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even ^(U)the ^[c]fast was already over, Paul started admonishing them, ¹⁰ saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with ^(V)damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” ¹¹ But the centurion was more persuaded by the ^(W)pilot and the ^[d]captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. ¹² The harbor was not suitable for wintering, so the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of ^(X)Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

^13 [e]When a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began ^(Y)sailing along ^(Z)Crete, closer to shore.

Shipwreck

¹⁴ But before very long a violent wind, called ^[f]Euraquilo, ^(AA)rushed down from ^[g]the land; ¹⁵ and when the ship was caught in it and could not head up into the wind, we gave up and let ourselves be driven by the wind. ¹⁶ Running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were able to get the ship’s ^[h]boat under control only with difficulty. ¹⁷ After they had hoisted it up, they used ^[i]supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might ^(AB)run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the ^[j]sea anchor and let themselves be driven along in this way. ¹⁸ The next day as we were being violently tossed by the storm, ^[k]they began to ^(AC)jettison the cargo; ¹⁹ and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was slowly abandoned.

^21 [l]When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood among them and said, “^[m](AD)Men, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from ^(AE)Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this ^(AF)damage and loss. ²² And yet now I urge you to ^(AG)keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For this very night ^(AH)an angel of the God to whom I belong, ^(AI)whom I also serve, ^(AJ)came to me, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; ^(AK)you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you ^(AL)all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore, ^(AM)keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that ^[n]it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶ But we must ^(AN)run aground on a certain ^(AO)island.”

²⁷ But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that ^[o]they were approaching some land. ²⁸ And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. ²⁹ Fearing that we might ^(AP)run aground somewhere on the ^[p]rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and ^[q]prayed for daybreak. ³⁰ But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down ^(AQ)the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹ Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut away the ^(AR)ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

³³ Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing. ³⁴ Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your survival, for ^(AS)not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” ³⁵ Having said this, he took bread and ^(AT)gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ All ^(AU)of them ^[r]were encouraged and they themselves also took food. ³⁷ We were 276 ^[s](AV)people on the ship in all. ³⁸ When they had eaten enough, they began lightening the ship by ^(AW)throwing the wheat out into the sea.

³⁹ Now when day came, ^(AX)they ^[t]could not recognize the land; but they did notice a bay with a beach, and they resolved to run the ship onto it if they could. ⁴⁰ And casting off ^(AY)the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and they hoisted the foresail to the wind and were heading for the beach. ⁴¹ But they struck a ^[u]reef where two seas met and ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck firmly and remained immovable, while the stern started to break up due to the force of the waves. ⁴² The soldiers’ plan was to ^(AZ)kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; ⁴³ but the centurion, ^(BA)wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from accomplishing their intention, and commanded that those who could swim were to ^[v]jump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴ and the rest were to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that ^(BB)they all were brought safely to land.