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.

Warnings and Instructions

The Old and the New

9 Now even the first covenant had ^(A)regulations of divine worship and ^(B)the earthly sanctuary. ² For there was ^(C)a ^[a]tabernacle prepared, the ^[b]outer one, in which were ^(D)the lampstand and ^(E)the table and ^(F)the ^[c]sacred bread; this is called the holy place. ³ Behind ^(G)the second veil there was a ^[d]tabernacle which is called the ^(H)Holy of Holies, ⁴ having a golden ^[e](I)altar of incense and ^(J)the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ^(K)a golden jar holding the manna, and ^(L)Aaron’s rod which budded, and ^(M)the tables of the covenant; ⁵ and above it were the ^(N)cherubim of glory ^(O)overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶ Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests ^(P)are continually entering the ^[f]outer ^[g]tabernacle performing the divine worship, ⁷ but into ^(Q)the second, only ^(R)the high priest enters ^(S)once a year, ^(T)not without taking blood, which he ^(U)offers for himself and for the ^[h](V)sins of the people committed in ignorance. ^8 (W)The Holy Spirit is signifying this, ^(X)that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the ^[i]outer tabernacle is still standing, ⁹ which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly ^(Y)both gifts and sacrifices are offered which ^(Z)cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, ¹⁰ since they relate only to ^(AA)food and ^(AB)drink and various ^(AC)washings, ^(AD)regulations for the ^[j]body imposed until ^(AE)a time of reformation.

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a ^(AF)high priest of the ^(AG)good things ^[k]to come, He entered through ^(AH)the greater and more perfect ^[l]tabernacle, ^(AI)not made with hands, that is to say, ^(AJ)not of this creation; ¹² and not through ^(AK)the blood of goats and calves, but ^(AL)through His own blood, He ^(AM)entered the holy place ^(AN)once for all, ^[m]having obtained ^(AO)eternal redemption. ¹³ For if ^(AP)the blood of goats and bulls and ^(AQ)the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the ^[n]cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will ^(AR)the blood of Christ, who through ^[o](AS)the eternal Spirit ^(AT)offered Himself without blemish to God, ^(AU)cleanse ^[p]your conscience from ^(AV)dead works to serve ^(AW)the living God?

¹⁵ For this reason ^(AX)He is the ^(AY)mediator of a ^(AZ)new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been ^(BA)called may ^(BB)receive the promise of ^(BC)the eternal inheritance. ¹⁶ For where a ^[q]covenant is, there must of necessity ^[r]be the death of the one who made it. ¹⁷ For a ^[s]covenant is valid only when ^[t]men are dead, ^[u]for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. ¹⁸ Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. ¹⁹ For when every commandment had been ^(BD)spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, ^(BE)he took the ^(BF)blood of the calves and the goats, with ^(BG)water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both ^(BH)the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “^(BI)This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” ²¹ And in the same way he ^(BJ)sprinkled both the ^[v]tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. ²² And according to the ^[w]Law, one may ^(BK)almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and ^(BL)without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³ Therefore it was necessary for the ^(BM)copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but ^(BN)the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ ^(BO)did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of ^(BP)the true one, but into ^(BQ)heaven itself, now ^(BR)to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as ^(BS)the high priest enters ^(BT)the holy place ^(BU)year by year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since ^(BV)the foundation of the world; but now ^(BW)once at ^(BX)the consummation of the ages He has been ^(BY)manifested to put away sin ^[x](BZ)by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷ And inasmuch as ^(CA)it is ^[y]appointed for men to die once and after this ^(CB)comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ also, having been ^(CC)offered once to ^(CD)bear the sins of many, will appear ^(CE)a second time for ^(CF)salvation ^(CG)without reference to sin, to those who ^(CH)eagerly await Him.