2 Samuel 11

1 Forsothe it was doon, whanne the yeer turnede ayen in that tyme wherynne kyngis ben wont to go forth to batels, Dauid sente Joab, and with hym hise seruauntis, and al Israel; and thei distrieden the sones of Amon, and bisegiden Rabath; forsothe Dauid dwellide in Jerusalem.

Now in the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent Joab and his servants and all Israel with him; and they made waste the land of the children of Ammon, and took up their position before Rabbah, shutting it in. But David was still at Jerusalem.

2 While these thingis weren doon, it befelde, that Dauid roos in a dai fro his bed after mydday, and walkide in the soler of the kyngis hows; and he siy a womman waischynge hir silf euen ayens on hir soler; sotheli the womman was ful fair.

Now one evening, David got up from his bed, and while he was walking on the roof of the king's house, he saw from there a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

3 Therfor the kyng sente, and enqueride, what womman it was; and it was teld to hym, that sche was Bersabee, the douytir of Heliam, and was the wijf of Vrye Ethei.

And David sent to get knowledge who the woman was. And one said, Is this not Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?

4 Therfor bi messangeris sent Dauid took hir; and whanne sche entride to hym, he slepte with hir, and anoon sche was halewid fro hir vnclenesse.

And David sent and took her; and she came to him, and he took her to his bed: (for she had been made clean; ) then she went back to her house.

5 And sche turnede ayen in to hir hows, with child conseyued; and sche sente, and telde to Dauid, and seide, Y haue conseyued.

And the woman became with child; and she sent word to David that she was with child.

6 Forsothe Dauid sente to Joab, and seide, Sende thou Vrye Ethei to me; and Joab sente Vrye to Dauid.

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

7 And Vrie cam to Dauid; and Dauid axide, hou riytfuli Joab dide and the puple, and hou the batel was mynystrid.

And when Uriah came to him, David put questions to him about how Joab and the people were, and how the war was going.

8 And Dauid seide to Vrye, Go in to thin hows, and waische thi feet. Vrye yede out fro the hows of the kyng, and the kyngis mete suede hym.

And David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and let your feet be washed. And Uriah went away from the king's house, and an offering from the king was sent after him.

9 Sotheli Vrye slepte bifor the yate of the kyngis hows with othere seruauntis of his lord, and yede not doun to his hows.

But Uriah took his rest at the door of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

10 And it was teld to Dauid of men, seiynge, Vrye `yede not to his hows. And Dauid seide to Vrye, Whether thou camest not fro the weye? whi yedist thou not doun in to thin hows?

And when word was given to David that Uriah had not gone down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? why did you not go down to your house?

11 And Vrie seide to Dauid, The arke of God, Israel and Juda dwellen in tentis, and my lord Joab, and the seruauntis of my lord dwellen on the face of erthe, and schal Y go in to myn hows, to ete and drynke, and slepe with my wijf? Bi thin helthe, and bi the helthe of thi soule, Y schal not do this thing.

And Uriah said to David, Israel and Judah with the ark are living in tents, and my lord Joab and the other servants of my lord are sleeping in the open field; and am I to go to my house and take food and drink, and go to bed with my wife? By the living Lord, and by the life of your soul, I will not do such a thing.

12 Therfor Dauid seide to Vrye, Dwelle thou here also to dai, and to morewe Y schal delyuere thee. Vrie dwellide in Jerusalem in that day and the tothir.

And David said to Uriah, Be here today, and after that I will let you go. So Uriah was in Jerusalem that day and the day after.

13 And Dauid clepide hym, that he schulde ete and drynke bifor hym, and Dauid made drunkun Vrye; and he yede out in the euentid, and slepte in his bed with the seruauntes of his lord; and yede not doun in to his hows.

And when David sent for him, he took meat and drink with him, and David made him the worse for drink: and when evening came, he went to rest on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 Therfor the morewtid was maad, and Dauid wroot epistle to Joab, and sente bi the hond of Vrye,

Now in the morning, David gave Uriah a letter to take to Joab.

15 and wroot in the pistle, Sette ye Vrye euene ayens the batel, where the batel is strongeste, `that is, where the aduersaries ben stronge, and forsake ye hym, that he be smitun and perische.

And in the letter he said, Take care to put Uriah in the very front of the line, where the fighting is most violent, and go back from him, so that he may be overcome and put to death.

16 Therfor whanne Joab bisegide the citee, he settide Vrie in the place where he wiste that strongeste men weren.

So while Joab was watching the town, he put Uriah in the place where it was clear to him the best fighters were.

17 And men yeden out of the citee, and fouyten ayens Joab, and thei killiden of the puple of seruauntis of Dauid, and also Vrye Ethei was deed.

And the men of the town went out and had a fight with Joab: and a number of David's men came to their death in the fight, and with them Uriah the Hittite.

18 Therfor Joab sente, and telde alle the wordis of the batel;

Then Joab sent David news of everything which had taken place in the war:

19 and he comaundyde to the messanger, and seide, Whanne thou hast fillid alle wordis of the batel to the kyng,

And he gave orders to the man who took the news, saying, After you have given the king all the news about the war,

20 if thou seest, that he is wrooth, and seith, Whi neiyiden ye to the wal to fiyte? whether ye wisten not, that many dartis ben sent `fro aboue fro the wal?

If the king is angry and says, Why did you go so near the town for the fight? was it not certain that their archers would be on the wall?

21 who smoot Abymelech, sone of Gerobaal? whether not a womman sente on hym a gobet of a mylnestoon fro the wal, and killide hym in Thebes? whi neiyiden ye bisidis the wal? thou schalt seie, Also thi seruaunt, Vrye Ethei, diede.

Who put Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, to death? did not a woman send a great stone down on him from the wall, putting him to death at Thebez? why did you go so near the wall? Then say to him, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is among the dead.

22 Therfor the messanger yede, and telde to Dauid alle thingis whiche Joab hadde comaundid to hym.

So the man went, and came to David, and gave him all the news which Joab had sent him to give; then David was angry with Joab and said, Why did you go so near the town for the fight? was it not certain that their archers would be on the wall? who put Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, to death? did not a woman send a great stone down on him from the wall, putting him to death at Thebez? why did you go so near the wall?

23 And the messanger seide to Dauid, `Men hadden the maistri ayens us, and thei yeden out to vs in to the feeld; sotheli bi `fersnesse maad we pursueden hem `til to the yate of the citee.

And the man said to David, Truly the men got the better of us, and came out against us into the open country, but we sent them back to the very doors of the town.

24 And archeris senten dartis to thi seruauntis fro the wal aboue, and summe of the `kyngis seruauntis ben deed; forsothe also thi seruaunt, Vrye Ethei, is deed.

And the archers sent their arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's servants are dead, and among them is your servant Uriah the Hittite.

25 And Dauid seide to the messanger, Thou schalt seie these thingis to Joab, This thing breke not thee; for the bifallyng of batel is dyuerse, and swerd wastith now this man, now that man; coumforte thi fiyteris ayens the citee, that thou distrye it, and excite thou hem.

Then David said to the man, Go and say to Joab, Do not let this be a grief to you; for one man may come to his death by the sword like another: put up an even stronger fight against the town, and take it: and do you put heart into him.

26 Forsothe the wijf of Vrye herde, that Vrye hir hosebond was deed, and sche biweilide hym.

And when the wife of Uriah had news that her husband was dead, she gave herself up to weeping for him.

27 And whanne the morenyng was passid, Dauid sente, and brouyte hir in to his hows; and sche was maad wijf to hym, and sche childide a sone to hym. And this word which Dauid hadde do displeside bifor the Lord.

And when the days of weeping were past, David sent for her, and took her into his house, and she became his wife and gave him a son. But the Lord was not pleased with the thing David had done.