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, at the return of the same season of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of 'Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained behind 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 happened at evening-tide, that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and he saw from the roof a woman bathing herself; and the woman was of a very beautiful appearance.

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 some one said, Behold, this is Beth-sheba', the daughter of Eli'am, the wife of Uriyah 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, and she had just purified herself 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 she 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, Send unto me Uriyah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriyah 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 Uriyah was come unto him, David asked after the well-being of Joab, and after the well-being of the people, 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 Uriyah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriyah went forth out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of food 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 Uriyah laid himself down 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 they told David, saying, Uriyah is not gone down unto his house: and David said unto Uriyah, Art thou not come from a journey? why then art thou not gone down unto thy own 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.”

Then said Uriyah unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open field: and should I alone go unto my 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 unto Uriyah, Tarry here also this day, and tomorrow will I send thee off. So Uriyah remained in Jerusalem on that day and the following.

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 David invited him, and he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunken; and he went out in the evening to lie down on his resting-place with the servants of his lord; but to his house he did not go down.

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 Uriyah.

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 Uriyah in front, opposite to the hottest fight, and then withdraw from behind 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 was enclosing the city, that he placed Uriyah toward the spot of which he knew that valiant men were there.

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 there died also Uriyah the Hittite.

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

Then did Joab send, and told unto David all the events of the war.

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

And he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast finished telling all the events of the war to 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 it happen that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore did you approach unto the city to fight? knew ye not, that they would shoot down from off 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 Yerubbesheth? did not a woman throw down upon him a piece of an upper mill-stone from off the wall so that he died at Thebez? why did ye approach unto the wall? then must thou say, Also thy servant Uriyah the Hittite is dead.

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

And the messenger went, and came and told unto David all for which Joab had sent him.

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, Because the men overpowered us and came out against us into the field; but we set upon them, as far as the entrance 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 archers then shot at thy servants from off the wall; and there died some of the servants of the king, and also thy servant Uriyah the Hittite is dead.

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 said David to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab, Let this thing not be displeasing in thy eyes; for at times this, at other times the other will the sword devour; continue firmly in thy war against the city, and overthrow it: and thus do thou encourage him.

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

And when the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband had died, she mourned for her lord.

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 [time of] mourning was past, David sent and took her to his house, and she became his wife; and she bore him a son. But the thing which David had done was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord.