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 year, at the time of the going forth of kings, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon, and laid siege to Rabbah, —but, David, was remaining in 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 that, at eventide, David arose from his couch, and walked to and fro on the roof of the king’s house, when, from the roof, he saw a woman bathing herself, —the woman being exceeding 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 enquired after the woman, —and one said—Is not, this, Bath-sheba, daughter of Eliam, 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 fetched her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, she having purified herself from her uncleanness, —and she returned unto her own house.

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

And the woman, having conceived, 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;

Then sent David unto Joab, Send unto me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent Uriah unto 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 had come in unto him, David asked—how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, 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,

Then said David unto Uriah, Go down unto thy house, and bathe thy feet. And, when Uriah went out of the house of the king, there followed him, a present 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 entrance of the king’s house, with all the servants of his lord, —and went not down unto his own 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 it was told David, saying, Uriah went not down, unto his own house. So David said unto Uriah—Was it not, from a journey, thou didst come? why, then, hast thou not been down unto thine 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.”

And Uriah said unto David—The ark, and Israel and Judah, are dwelling in huts and, my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field, are encamped, Was, I, then, to enter my own house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By thy life, yea by the life of thy soul, I could 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,

Then said David unto Uriah—Abide here to-day also, and, to-morrow, will I let thee go. 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 David called him, and he did eat before him, and drank, and he made him drunk, —and he went forth in the evening to lie down on his bed, with the servants of his lord, but, unto his own house, went he not 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 so it was, in the morning, that David wrote a letter unto 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 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];

So it came to pass, when Joab was laying siege to the city, that he put Uriah in the place where he knew that the men of valour, 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 forth sallied the men of the city, and fought with Joab, and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David, —then died also, Uriah the Hittite.

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

So Joab sent and told David all the news of the battle;

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 ended all the news of the battle, in speaking 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?

then shall it be, if the king’s anger arise, and he say unto thee, Why came ye near unto the city, to fight? Knew ye not, that they would shoot 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 son of Jerubbaal? Did not, a woman, cast on him an upper millstone from off the wall, that he died, in Thebez? Wherefore came ye near unto the wall? Then shalt thou say—Moreover, thy servant, Uriah the Hittite, died.

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

And the messenger went his way, —and came in, and told David, all that Joab had sent him [to tell].

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, The men were too strong for us, and sallied forth against us, in the field, —so we were drawn against them as far as the opening 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.”

Then did the archers shoot upon thy servants, from off the wall, and there died some of the servants of the king, —moreover also, thy servant, Uriah the Hittite, died.

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 unto the messenger—Thus, shalt thou say unto Joab, —Let not this thing be grievous in thine eyes, for, now this one, and then that one, doth the sword devour, —make hot thy battle against the city, and overthrow it; Thus embolden thou him.

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

And, when Uriah’s wife heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made loud lamentation over 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 had passed, David sent and received her into his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing which David had done was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh.