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.
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.
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.
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,
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 sends and inquires about the woman, and [someone] says, “Is this not Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, 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 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;
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 conceives, and sends, and declares [it] to David, and says, “I [am] conceiving.”
6 Forsothe Dauid sente to Joab, and seide, Sende thou Vrye Ethei to me; and Joab sente Vrye to Dauid.
And David sends to Joab, [saying], “Send Uriah the Hittite to me,” and Joab sends 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 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.
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 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,
9 Sotheli Vrye slepte bifor the yate of the kyngis hows with othere seruauntis of his lord, and yede not doun to his hows.
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.
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 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?”
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 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.”
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 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,
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 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.
14 Therfor the morewtid was maad, and Dauid wroot epistle to Joab, and sente bi the hond of Vrye,
And it comes to pass in the morning that David writes a letter to Joab and sends [it] by the hand of Uriah;
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 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.”
16 Therfor whanne Joab bisegide the citee, he settide Vrie in the place where he wiste that strongeste men weren.
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];
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 city go out and fight with Joab, and [some] of the people, from the servants of David, fall; and Uriah the Hittite also dies.
18 Therfor Joab sente, and telde alle the wordis of the batel;
And Joab sends and declares to David all the matters of the war,
19 and he comaundyde to the messanger, and seide, Whanne thou hast fillid alle wordis of the batel to the kyng,
and commands the messenger, saying, “At your finishing all the matters of the war to speak to the king,
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?
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?
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 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.”
22 Therfor the messanger yede, and telde to Dauid alle thingis whiche Joab hadde comaundid to hym.
And the messenger goes, and comes in, and declares to David all that with which Joab sent him,
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 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,
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 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.”
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.
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.”
26 Forsothe the wijf of Vrye herde, that Vrye hir hosebond was deed, and sche biweilide hym.
And the wife of Uriah hears that her husband Uriah [is] dead, and laments for her lord;
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 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.
