2 Samuel 11

1 And it comes to pass, at the revolution of the year—at the time of the going out of the messengers—that David sends Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the sons of Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah, but David is dwelling in Jerusalem.

AND it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

2 And it comes to pass, at evening-time, that David rises from off his bed, and walks up and down on the roof of the king’s house, and sees a woman bathing from the roof, and the woman [is] of very good appearance,

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

3 and David sends and inquires about the woman, and [someone] says, “Is this not Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

4 And David sends messengers, and takes her, and she comes to him, and he lies with her—and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness—and she turns back to her house;

And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

5 and the woman conceives, and sends, and declares [it] to David, and says, “I [am] conceiving.”

And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

6 And David sends to Joab, [saying], “Send Uriah the Hittite to me,” and Joab sends Uriah to David;

And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.

7 and Uriah comes to him, and David asks of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war.

And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.

8 And David says to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet”; and Uriah goes out of the king’s house, and there goes out a gift from the king after him,

And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

9 and Uriah lies down at the opening of the king’s house, with all the servants of his lord, and has not gone down to his house.

But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

10 And they declare [it] to David, saying, “Uriah has not gone down to his house”; and David says to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why have you not gone down to your house?”

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

11 And Uriah says to David, “The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in shelters, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamping on the face of the field; and should I go to my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? [By] your life and the life of your soul—if I do this thing.”

And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

12 And David says to Uriah, “Also abide in this [place] today, and tomorrow I send you away”; and Uriah abides in Jerusalem on that day and on the next day,

And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

13 and David calls for him, and he eats before him, and drinks, and he causes him to drink, and he goes out in the evening to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and he has not gone down to his house.

And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

14 And it comes to pass in the morning that David writes a letter to Joab and sends [it] by the hand of Uriah;

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

15 and he writes in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in front of the face of the most severe battle, and you have turned back from after him, and he has been struck, and has died.”

And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

16 And it comes to pass in Joab’s watching of the city, that he appoints Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men [were];

And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

17 and the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and [some] of the people, from the servants of David, fall; and Uriah the Hittite also dies.

And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 And Joab sends and declares to David all the matters of the war,

Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;

19 and commands the messenger, saying, “At your finishing all the matters of the war to speak to the king,

And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

20 then, it has been, if the king’s fury ascends, and he has said to you, Why did you draw near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they shoot from off the wall?

And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

21 Who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not cast a piece of a rider from the wall on him, and he dies in Thebez? Why did you draw near to the wall? That you have said, Also—your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

22 And the messenger goes, and comes in, and declares to David all that with which Joab sent him,

So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

23 and the messenger says to David, “Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out to us into the field, and we are on them to the opening of the gate,

And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

24 and those shooting shoot at your servants from off the wall, and [some] of the servants of the king are dead, and also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

25 And David says to the messenger, “Thus you say to Joab, Do not let this thing be evil in your eyes; for thus and thus the sword devours; strengthen your warfare against the city, and throw it down; so you strengthen him.”

Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

26 And the wife of Uriah hears that her husband Uriah [is] dead, and laments for her lord;

And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

27 and the mourning passes by, and David sends and gathers her to his house, and she is to him for a wife, and bears a son to him; and the thing which David has done is evil in the eyes of YHWH.

And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.