Chronological

David and Bathsheba

11 The spring of the year was the time when kings went out to battle. At that time David sent Joab and his servants and all Israel. They destroyed the sons of Ammon and gathered the army around Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

² When evening came David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman washing herself. The woman was very beautiful. ³ So David sent someone to ask about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Eliam’s daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ David sent men and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. After she had made herself clean again, she returned to her house. ⁵ She was going to have a baby, so she sent someone to tell David, “I am going to have a baby.”

⁶ Then David sent men to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people were doing, and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” And Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent to him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David that Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, “Have you not returned from traveling a long way? Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The special box of the Lord, and Israel and Judah, are staying in tents. My lord Joab and the servants of my lord are staying in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and 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, “Stay here today also. Tomorrow I will let you go.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ David called him, and he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants. He did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by Uriah. ¹⁵ He had written in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front of the hardest battle and come away from him, so that he may be killed.” ¹⁶ So while Joab was watching the city, he sent Uriah to the place where he knew there were soldiers with strength of heart. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought against Joab. Some of David’s servants were killed. And Uriah the Hittite died also. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent a man with news to David to tell him all about the war. ¹⁹ Joab told the man, “When you have finished telling the king all about the war, ²⁰ the king might become angry. He might say to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw a grinding stone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then you should say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

²² So the man left and came to David. He told him all that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³ The man said to David, “The men were winning the fight against us. They came out against us in the field. But we drove them back as far as the city gate. ²⁴ Then they shot arrows at your servants from the wall. So some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” ²⁵ Then David said to the man, “Tell Joab, ‘Do not let this thing trouble you. For the sword kills one as well as another. Make your battle against the city stronger and destroy it.’ Comfort him with these words.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she was filled with sorrow for him. ²⁷ When the time of sorrow was finished, David sent men and brought her to his house. She became his wife, and gave birth to his son. But what David had done was sinful in the eyes of the Lord.

Nathan’s Picture-Story about David

12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in one city. One was rich and the other was poor. ² The rich man had many flocks and cattle. ³ But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb which he bought and fed. It grew up together with him and his children. It would eat his bread and drink from his cup and lie in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now a traveler came to the rich man. But the rich man was not willing to take from his own flock or his own cattle, to make food for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s female lamb and made it ready for the man who had come to him.” ⁵ David was very angry at the man, and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, for sure the man who has done this should die. ⁶ And he must pay four times the worth of the lamb, because he did this thing without pity.”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you Saul’s family and Saul’s wives into your care. I gave you the nations of Israel and Judah. And if this were too little, I would give you as much more. ⁹ Why have you hated the Word of the Lord by doing what is bad in His eyes? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ So now some from your family, even in the future, will die by the sword, because you have turned against Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ This is what the Lord says: ‘See, I will bring trouble against you from your own family. I will take your wives in front of your eyes and give them to your neighbor. He will lie with your wives in the light of day. ¹² You did it in secret. But I will do this in front of all Israel, and under the sun.’” ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to him, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You will not die. ¹⁴ But by this act you have given those who hate the Lord a reason to speak against the Lord. The child that is born to you will die for sure.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.

David’s Son Dies

The Lord sent trouble upon the child of Uriah’s wife and David, so that he was very sick. ¹⁶ David begged God to make the child well. He went without food and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ The leaders of his family stood beside him to lift him up from the ground. But David was not willing. He would not eat food with them. ¹⁸ The child died on the seventh day. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “See, we spoke to him while the child was still alive, and he did not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He might hurt himself.” ¹⁹ But when David saw his servants speaking together in secret, he understood that the child was dead. He asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David got up from the ground, washed, poured oil on himself, and changed his clothes. Then he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He returned to his own house and asked for food. So they set food in front of him, and he ate. ²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While the child was alive, you went without food and cried. But when the child died, you got up and ate food.” ²² David said, “I went without food and cried while the child was still alive, for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord might be kind to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But now he has died. Why should I go without food? Can I bring him to life again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Solomon Is Born

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went in and lay with her, and she gave birth to a son. He gave him the name Solomon. The Lord loved him, ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan who spoke for God. And Nathan gave him the name Jedidiah because of the Lord.

David Takes Rabbah

²⁶ Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and took the king’s city. ²⁷ Joab sent men to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah. I have taken the city of waters. ²⁸ So gather the rest of the people together. Go against the city and take it, or I will take the city myself and it will be called by my name.” ²⁹ So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah. He fought against it, and took it. ³⁰ Then he took the very heavy crown from their king’s head. In it were beautiful stones of much worth. The crown was put on David’s head. And he brought a large amount of things out of the city. ³¹ He brought out the people who were in it also. He made them work with saws, sharp iron tools, and iron axes. And he made them work in the heat making building stones. He did this to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

David Takes Rabbah

20 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army. He destroyed the land of the sons of Ammon. And he gathered his army around Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Joab fought against Rabbah, and won. ² Then David took the crown from their king’s head. He found that its gold weighed as much as an older child. And there were stones of much worth in it. It was placed on David’s head. He brought out the riches of the city, a very large amount. ³ He brought out the people who were in it, and made them work with saws, iron picks, and axes. David did this to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then he and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Philistines’ Strong Men Destroyed

⁴ After this there was a war with the Philistines at Gezer. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of those who were very tall and strong. And the Philistines were put under their power. ⁵ There was war with the Philistines again. Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite. Goliath’s spear was as big as the cross-piece of a cloth-maker. ⁶ Again there was war at Gath. A very tall man was there who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all. He was a son of those who were very tall and strong. ⁷ When he spoke against Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. ⁸ These were sons of the people of Gath who were very tall and strong. And they were killed by David and his servants.