2 Samuel 11
1 And it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the year — at the time of the going out of the messengers — that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling 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 and it cometh to pass, at evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman [is] of very good appearance,
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 and David sendeth and inquireth about the woman, and saith, 'Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?'
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 And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her — and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness — and she turneth back unto her house;
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 the woman conceiveth, and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, 'I [am] conceiving.'
The woman conceived, and she sent and told David; she said, “I am pregnant.”
6 And David sendeth unto Joab, 'Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David;
Then David sent to Joab saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 and Uriah cometh unto him, and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war.
When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was doing, and how the war was going.
8 And David saith to Uriah, 'Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king,
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 and Uriah lieth down at the opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not gone down unto his house.
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 they declare to David, saying, 'Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah, 'Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy house?'
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 Uriah saith unto David, 'The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I — I go in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife! — thy life, and the life of thy soul — if I 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 And David saith unto Uriah, 'Abide in this [place] also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow,
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 David calleth for him, and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and unto his house he hath not gone down.
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 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of Uriah;
So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 and he writeth in the letter, saying, 'Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.'
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 And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men [are];
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 the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and there fall [some] of the people, of the servants of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite.
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 And Joab sendeth and declareth to David all the matters of the war,
When Joab sent word to David about everything concerning the war,
19 and commandeth the messenger, saying, 'At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto the king,
he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war to the king,
20 then, it hath been, if the king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall?
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 smote Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'
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 And the messenger goeth, and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him,
So the messenger left and went to David and told him everything that Joab had sent him to say.
23 and the messenger saith unto David, 'Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,
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 those shooting shoot at thy servants from off the wall, and [some] of the servants of the king are dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.
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 David saith unto the messenger, 'Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down — and strengthen thou him.'
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 And the wife of Uriah heareth that Uriah her husband [is] dead, and lamenteth for her lord;
So when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented deeply for her husband.
27 and the mourning passeth by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah.
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.
