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2 Samuel 11
Amplified Bible

Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 Then it happened in the spring, [a]at the time when the kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all [the fighting men of] Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] [b]roof of the king’s palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful in appearance. 3 David sent word and inquired about the woman. Someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. And [c]when she was purified from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent word and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6 Then David sent word to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him [d]how Joab was, how the people were doing, and how the war was progressing. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet (spend time at home).” Uriah left the king’s palace, and a [e]gift from the king was sent out after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not [just] come from a [long] journey? Why did you not go to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in huts (temporary shelters), and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today as well, and tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Now David called him [to dinner], and he ate and drank with him, so that he [f]made Uriah drunk; in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and [still] did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it [g]with Uriah. 15 He wrote in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die.” 16 So it happened that as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the [enemy’s] valiant men were positioned. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent word and informed David of all the events of the war. 19 And he commanded the messenger, “When you have finished reporting all the events of the war to the king, 20 then if the king becomes angry and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot [arrows] from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Was it not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”(A)

22 So the messenger left, and he came and told David everything that Joab had sent him to report. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men indeed prevailed against us and came out to us in the field, but we were on them and pushed them as far as the entrance of the [city] gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25 Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab this, ‘Do not let this thing disturb you, for the sword devours one [side] as well as another. Strengthen your battle against the city and overthrow it’; and so encourage Joab.”

26 When Uriah’s wife [Bathsheba] heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when the time of mourning was past, David sent word and had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:1 I.e. after the spring harvest provisions for the armies were plentiful.
  2. 2 Samuel 11:2 In middle eastern homes the roof was often used as a living space or patio.
  3. 2 Samuel 11:4 This casual observation reflects the hypocrisy of David and Bathsheba’s sin. Evidently they both bathed and observed other ritual requirements of the Mosaic Law regarding sexual relations (Lev 15:18 etc.), as if that somehow mitigated the much graver sin of adultery. Both participants in adultery were to be punished by death (Lev 20:10).
  4. 2 Samuel 11:7 In each of these inquiries the noun shalom is used.
  5. 2 Samuel 11:8 The Hebrew word suggests food, but the actual nature of the gift is not specified.
  6. 2 Samuel 11:13 At this point David was hoping that Uriah’s drunkenness would make him forget his decision to stay with the troops, and that he would go home and have relations with his wife. David apparently thought that Bathsheba could later persuade Uriah that the child was his, even though she would be giving birth early.
  7. 2 Samuel 11:14 Lit by the hand of.
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2 Samuel 11
New English Translation

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings[a] normally conduct wars,[b] David sent out Joab with his officers[c] and the entire Israelite army.[d] They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.[e] 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace.[f] From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive.[g] 3 So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger[h] said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

4 David sent some messengers to get her.[i] She came to[j] him and he went to bed with her.[k] (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.)[l] Then she returned to her home. 5 The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”

6 So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going.[m] 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.”[n] When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him.[o] 9 But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all[p] the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house.

10 So they informed David, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So David said to Uriah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?” 11 Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and go to bed with[q] my wife? As surely as you are alive,[r] I will not do this thing!” 12 So David said to Uriah, “Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one.[s] 13 Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote: “Station Uriah at the front in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”

16 So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers[t] were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers[u] fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

18 Then Joab sent a full battle report to David.[v] 19 He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish giving the battle report to the king, 20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone[w] down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

22 So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and attacked us[x] in the field. But we forced them to retreat[y] all the way to the door of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king’s soldiers[z] died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you.[aa] There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down.[ab] Press the battle against the city and conquer[ac] it.’ Encourage him with these words.”[ad]

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.[ae] 27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace.[af] She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord.[ag]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:1 tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאָכִים, hammalʾakhim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammelakhim).
  2. 2 Samuel 11:1 tn Heb “go out.”
  3. 2 Samuel 11:1 tn Heb “and his servants with him.”
  4. 2 Samuel 11:1 tn Heb “all Israel.”
  5. 2 Samuel 11:1 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.
  6. 2 Samuel 11:2 tn Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.
  7. 2 Samuel 11:2 tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.
  8. 2 Samuel 11:3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the messenger) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”
  10. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations, the implied purpose for approaching someone. Here it refers only to the stage of approaching while the next verb describes the result. That she is the subject of this verb (while David is the subject of the next verb) probably indicates that the act was consensual.
  11. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “he lay down with her.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
  12. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.
  13. 2 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “concerning the peace of Joab and concerning the peace of the people and concerning the peace of the battle.”
  14. 2 Samuel 11:8 tn Heb “and wash your feet.”
  15. 2 Samuel 11:8 tn Heb “and there went out after him the gift of the king.”
  16. 2 Samuel 11:9 tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation lacks the word “all.”
  17. 2 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “lie with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
  18. 2 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “as you live and as your soul lives.”
  19. 2 Samuel 11:12 tn On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 287.
  20. 2 Samuel 11:16 tn Heb “the valiant men.” This refers in context to the strongest or most valiant defenders of the city Joab and the Israelite army were besieging, so the present translation uses “the best enemy soldiers” for clarity.
  21. 2 Samuel 11:17 tn Heb “some of the people from the servants of David.”
  22. 2 Samuel 11:18 tn Heb “Joab sent and related to David all the matters of the battle.”
  23. 2 Samuel 11:21 sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.
  24. 2 Samuel 11:23 tn Heb “and came out to us.”
  25. 2 Samuel 11:23 tn Heb “but we were on them.”
  26. 2 Samuel 11:24 tc The translation follows the Qere (“your servants”) rather than the Kethib (“your servant”).
  27. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”
  28. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”
  29. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “overthrow.”
  30. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  31. 2 Samuel 11:26 tn Heb “for her lord.”
  32. 2 Samuel 11:27 tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”
  33. 2 Samuel 11:27 tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Note the verbal connection with v. 25. Though David did not regard the matter as evil, the Lord certainly did.
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2 Samuel 11
King James Version

11 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

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

7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.

8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;

19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

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