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.
It came about in the springtime, at the time when kings normally go to war, that David sent out Joab, his servants, and all the army of Israel. They destroyed the army of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed 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.
So it came about one evening that David got up from his bed and walked on the roof of his palace. From there he happened to see a woman who was bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
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.
So David sent and he asked people who would know about the woman. Someone said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, and is she not the 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.
David sent messengers and took her; she came in to him, and he slept with her (for she had just purified herself from menstruation). Then she returned 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.
The woman conceived, and she sent and told David; she said, “I am pregnant.”
6 Forsothe Dauid sente to Joab, and seide, Sende thou Vrye Ethei to me; and Joab sente Vrye to Dauid.
Then David sent to Joab saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So 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.
When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was doing, 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.
David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the king's palace, and the king sent a gift for Uriah after he left.
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 slept at the door of the king's palace with all the servants of his master, and he 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?
When they told David, “Uriah did not go 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.
Uriah answered David, “The ark, and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my master's servants are camped in an open field. How then can I go into my house to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As sure as you are alive, I will not do this.”
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.
So David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and 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.
When David called him, he ate and drank before him, and David made him drunk. At evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his master; 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,
So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent 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.
David wrote in the letter saying, “Set Uriah at the very front of the most intense battle, and then withdraw from him, that he may be hit and killed.”
16 Therfor whanne Joab bisegide the citee, he settide Vrie in the place where he wiste that strongeste men weren.
So as Joab watched the siege upon the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the strongest enemy soldiers would be fighting.
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.
When the men of the city went out and fought against Joab's army, some of the soldiers of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite was also killed there.
18 Therfor Joab sente, and telde alle the wordis of the batel;
When Joab sent word to David about everything concerning the war,
19 and he comaundyde to the messanger, and seide, Whanne thou hast fillid alle wordis of the batel to the kyng,
he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war 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?
it may happen that the king will become angry, and he will say to you, 'Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from 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 killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' Then you must answer, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'”
22 Therfor the messanger yede, and telde to Dauid alle thingis whiche Joab hadde comaundid to hym.
So the messenger left and went to David and told him everything that Joab had sent him to say.
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.
Then the messenger said to David, “The enemy were stronger than we were at first; they came out to us into the field, but we drove them back to the entrance 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.
Then their shooters shot at your soldiers from off the wall, and some of the king's servants were killed, and your servant Uriah the Hittite was killed too.”
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 messenger, “Say this to Joab, 'Do not let this displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle even stronger against the city, and overthrow it,' and encourage him.”
26 Forsothe the wijf of Vrye herde, that Vrye hir hosebond was deed, and sche biweilide hym.
So when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented deeply for her husband.
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.
When her sorrow passed, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done displeased Yahweh.
