Historical

Chapter 11

David’s Son. ¹ With the onset of spring, the time of year when kings go off to war, David sent forth Joab along with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. However, David himself remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening, when David arose from his couch and walked about on the roof of his palace, he saw from the roof a woman bathing. She was very beautiful. ³ David made inquiries about the woman, and he was told: “That is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

⁴ David sent messengers to fetch her, and when she came to him, he had relations with her, just after she had purified herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned home. ⁵ The woman conceived, and she sent a message to David: “I am pregnant.”

⁶ Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite,” and Joab did so. ⁷ When Uriah returned, David asked him how Joab and the troops were faring and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah: “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” Uriah departed from the king’s palace, and a gift from the king was sent to his house.

⁹ However, Uriah did not return to his house, but rather he slept at the palace gate with all the king’s bodyguard. ¹⁰ Upon receiving the report that Uriah had not returned home, David said to him: “You have just arrived from a journey. Why didn’t you go down to your house?”

¹¹ Uriah replied: “The Ark and Israel and Judah are lodged in tents, and my master Joab and your majesty’s soldiers are encamped in the open fields. How then can I feel comfortable to go to my house, to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I shall do no such thing.”

¹² Then David said to Uriah: “Remain here for one more day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” Therefore, Uriah remained that day in Jerusalem. ¹³ On the following day David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him and caused him to become drunk. In the evening he went outside to lie down and fall asleep with the king’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it to him in the care of Uriah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote: “Assign Uriah up front where the fighting is fierce, and then draw back from him so that he may be struck down and die.”

¹⁶ As Joab was besieging the city, he stationed Uriah where he knew the enemy had deployed its most valiant warriors. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came forth and fought against Joab, some of the soldiers of David fell. Uriah the Hittite was also slain.

¹⁸ Then Joab sent David a full account of the battle, ¹⁹ and he instructed the messenger: “When you have finished telling the king all the details about the fighting, ²⁰ his anger may be aroused and he may say to you: ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Were you not aware that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Do you recall who killed Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal? Was it not a woman who dropped down a millstone on him from the wall, resulting in his death at Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ Then say to him: ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’ ”

²² Therefore, the messenger set off, and on his arrival he relayed to David everything that Joab had instructed him to say. ²³ He told David: “Their men initially gained an advantage over us, and they came forth to fight against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. ²⁴ Then their archers shot down at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s servants died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite was also slain.”

²⁵ David then said to the messenger: “This is what you are to say to Joab: ‘Do not let this matter cause you any distress, for the sword devours now one and now another. Press your attack against the city and destroy it.’ That message should encourage him.”^[a]

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah was told that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷ Then, when the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to live in his palace. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord was greatly displeased at what David had done.

Chapter 12

Nathan’s Parable. ¹ The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David, and when Nathan arrived, he said to him: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich and the other was poor. ² The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance, ³ but the poor man had nothing at all except for one little ewe lamb which he had bought. He cared for it, and the lamb grew up with him and with his children. It would share the little food he had and drink from his cup and sleep in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “On one occasion the rich man welcomed a traveler into his house, but he had no wish to take one animal from his flock or herd to provide a meal for his guest. Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”

⁵ On hearing this, David flew into a rage against that man, and he said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. ⁶ He must make fourfold restitution^[b] for the lamb, because he has done this without showing the least bit of pity.”

David’s Punishment. ⁷ Then Nathan said to David: “You are that man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king of Israel, and I rescued you from the clutches of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives as your own. I also gave you the house of Israel and the house of Judah. And if that had not been sufficient, I would have given you even more.

⁹ “ ‘Why have you shown your lack of gratitude to the Lord by doing what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife to be your own after having killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, since you have shown contempt for me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

¹¹ “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will bring misfortune upon you from within your own house. Before your very eyes I shall take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You have done such deeds in secret, but I will do them in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’ ”

¹³ David’s Repentance. David said to Nathan: “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied to David: “The Lord has decided to forgive your sin. You shall not die. ¹⁴ However, since you have shown your utter contempt for the Lord by this deed, the child born to you will die.”

¹⁵ After Nathan returned home, the Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it fell gravely ill. ¹⁶ David, therefore, pleaded with God for the child. He maintained a strict fast, and throughout the night he would lie on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood around him, urging him to rise from the ground. However, he refused to do so, nor would he take food with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: “While the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he refused to listen to us. How then can we inform him that the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” ¹⁹ However, David saw that his servants were whispering among themselves, and he realized that the child had died. He asked the servants: “Is the child dead?” They replied: “Yes, the child is dead.”

²⁰ David, thereupon, rose from the ground, bathed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He then went into the house of the Lord and worshiped before he returned to his own house. When he requested food, they set it before him, and he ate. ²¹ His servants said to him: “Why are you acting in this way? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you got up and ate food.”

²² David said: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I thought: ‘Perhaps the Lord will be merciful to me and allow the child to live.’ ²³ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

^24 [c]David then proceeded to console his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her. As a result, she bore a son, whom they named Solomon. The Lord loved him, ²⁵ and he sent a message to the prophet Nathan instructing him to name the child Jedidiah according to the Lord’s wish.

²⁶ The Ammonite War Ends. Shortly thereafter, Joab attacked Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. ²⁷ Then Joab sent messengers to inform David: “I have assaulted Rabbah and gained control of the water supply. ²⁸ Therefore, assemble the rest of the soldiers, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I myself will capture the city, and then it will be named after me.”

²⁹ Without delay, David assembled the rest of his soldiers and went to Rabbah, where he assaulted the city and captured it. ³⁰ He took the crown of Milcom from his head. Weighing a talent of gold and encrusted with precious stones, it was placed on David’s head. He also carried out a tremendous amount of spoil from the city.

³¹ Furthermore, David led away the city’s inhabitants and set them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes or assigned them to toil at brickmaking. This was his regular procedure in regard to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and all of his soldiers returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 13

The Crime of Amnon. ¹ Sometime later the following events occurred. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and David’s son Amnon fell madly in love with her. ² Amnon was obsessed with her to the point that he became ill because of his love for his sister Tamar, since she was a virgin and Amnon felt it was impossible for him even to approach her.

³ However, Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimeah, and he was an extremely devious man. ⁴ He asked Amnon: “O son of the king, why do you appear to be so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon replied: “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.”

⁵ Then Jonadab said to him: “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. When your father comes to visit you, say to him: ‘Please let my sister come and give me something to eat. Ask her to prepare the food in my presence for me to see and then eat it from her hand.’ ” ⁶ And so Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to visit him, Amnon said: “Please let my sister Tamar come and make some cakes before my eyes so that I can receive some nourishment from her hand.”

⁷ Then David sent a message to Tamar in the palace, saying: “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare some food for him.” ⁸ Therefore, Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon and found him lying in bed. She took dough and kneaded it, made some cakes while he watched, and baked the cakes.

⁹ Then Tamar took the pan and set out the cakes before him, but he refused to eat and ordered everyone else to leave the room. ¹⁰ Thereupon, Amnon said to Tamar: “Bring the food into the bedroom so that I may eat from your hand.” Therefore, Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the bedroom to Amnon her brother.

¹¹ However, when she offered them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said: “Come to bed with me, my sister.” ¹² She answered him: “No, my brother! Do not force me! Such repulsive acts are not done in Israel. Do not commit such a vile act! ¹³ And as for me, where could I go to hide my shame? Moreover, you would be disgraced in Israel. Therefore, I beg you to speak to the king. He will not refuse you permission to marry me.”

¹⁴ Despite her entreaty, he would not listen to her. Rather, he overpowered her and raped her. ¹⁵ Then Amnon was seized with intense hatred for her, a hatred that was far greater than the love he had had for her. “Get up and leave,” he said. ¹⁶ But she answered: “No, my brother. If you send me away, that would be an even greater wrong^[d] than the other wrong you perpetrated against me.” However, he refused to listen to her.

¹⁷ Then Amnon summoned his personal attendant and said: “Take this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her!” ¹⁸ She was wearing a long gown with sleeves, for this is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in those days. ¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long gown that she was wearing. Then, putting her hand on her head, she went away, weeping loudly.

²⁰ Her brother Absalom said to her: “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Be quiet now, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this to heart.” Then Tamar, forlorn and inconsolable, went to live in the house of her brother Absalom.

^21 [e]When King David learned about all this, he became extremely angry. However, he did not punish his son Amnon because he was his firstborn and he loved him. ²² But Absalom refused to say a single word to Amnon, either good or bad, since he hated Amnon because he had raped his sister Tamar.

²³ Absalom’s Plot. Two years later, when Absalom had sheep-shearers at Baal-hazor, near Ephraim, he invited all of the king’s sons. ²⁴ Absalom went to the king and said: “Your servant has summoned the sheep-shearers to work. Will your majesty and his retinue please come?” ²⁵ The king replied: “No, my son. If we all were to go, we would prove to be a burden to you.” Absalom continued to urge him, but the king still refused to go, although he gave him his blessing.

²⁶ Absalom then said: “If you will not come, then please allow my brother Amnon to go with us.” The king replied: “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷ However, Absalom continued to urge him, until finally the king allowed Amnon and all the other princes to go.

²⁸ Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king, and he instructed his servants: “Watch carefully! When Amnon is merry with wine and I say to you: ‘Strike down Amnon,’ then slay him. Do not be afraid. You will simply be obeying my command. Be courageous and act valiantly!”

²⁹ The Death of Amnon. When the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded, then all of the king’s sons leapt to their feet, mounted their mules, and fled. ³⁰ While they were still on the road, a report came to David that Absalom had slain all of the king’s sons and that not a single one of them had survived. ³¹ The king stood up, tore his garments, and threw himself on the ground. All of his servants who were standing around him also tore their garments.

³² However, Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said: “Let not my lord think that all the young princes, the sons of the king, have been killed. Amnon alone is dead, for Absalom has been determined to exact vengeance ever since the day that Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³ Therefore, my lord the king should not believe the report that all of the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

³⁴ Meanwhile Absalom had fled. When the man on sentry duty looked up, he saw a large group of people coming down the hill from the direction of Horonaim. Immediately he hastened to the king and reported: “I have seen men coming down the hill from Horonaim.”

³⁵ Jonadab said to the king: “Behold, the king’s sons have returned, just as I said they would.” ³⁶ No sooner had he finished speaking than the king’s sons arrived, weeping aloud. The king and all his servants also wept bitterly.

³⁷ Absalom, who had taken flight, went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur, ³⁸ and he remained in Geshur for three years.

³⁹ Efforts for Absalom’s Return. During all that time, David mourned over his son, but once he became reconciled to the death of Amnon, he yearned to be reconciled with Absalom.