Historical
11 1 The city Rabbah is besieged. 4 David committeth adultery. 17 Uriah is slain. 27 David marrieth Bathsheba.
1 And when the year was [a]expired in the time when kings go forth to battle, David sent (A)Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, who destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah: but David remained in Jerusalem.
2 And when it was evening-tide, David arose out of his [b]bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s palace: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself: and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired what woman it was: and one said, Is not this Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, wife to Uriah the [c]Hittite?
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her away: and she came unto him and he lay with her: (now she was (B)purified from her uncleanness) and she returned unto her house.
5 And the woman conceived: therefore she sent and [d]told David, and said, I am with child.
6 ¶ Then David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 And when Uriah came unto him, David demanded him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
8 Afterward David said to Uriah, [e]Go down to thine house, and wash thy feet. So Uriah departed out of the king’s palace, and the king sent a present after him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10 Then they told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house: and David said unto Uriah, Comest thou not from thy journey? why didst thou not go down to thine house?
11 Then Uriah answered David, [f]The Ark and Israel, and Judah dwell in tents: and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide in the open fields: shall I then go into mine house to eat and drink, and lie with my wife? by thy life, and by the life of thy soul, I will not do this thing.
12 Then David said unto Uriah, Tarry yet this day, and tomorrow I will send thee away. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13 Then David called him, and he did eat and drink before him, and he made him [g]drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14 And on the morrow David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote [h]thus in the letter, [i]Put ye Uriah in the forefront of the strength of the battle, and recule ye back from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16 ¶ So when Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah unto a place, where he knew that strong men were.
17 And the men of the city came out, and fought with Joab: and there fell of the people of the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war.
19 ¶ And he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling all the matters of the war unto the King,
20 [j]And if the king’s anger arise, so that he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye unto the city to fight? knew ye not that they would hurl from the wall?
21 Who smote Abimelech son of [k]Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, and he died in Thebez? why went you nigh the wall? Then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.
22 So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23 And the messenger said unto David, Certainly the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, but we [l]pursued them unto the entering of the gate.
24 But the shooters shot from the wall against thy servants, and some of the king’s servants be dead: and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.
25 Then David said unto the messenger, [m]Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing trouble thee: for the sword devoureth [n]one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and destroy it, and encourage thou him.
26 ¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 So when the mourning was past, David sent and took her into his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son: but the thing that David had done, [o]displeased the Lord.
12 1 David reproved by Nathan, confesseth his sin. 18 The child conceived in adultery, dieth. 24 Solomon is born. 30 Rabbah is taken. 31 The citizens are grievously punished.
1 Then the Lord sent [p]Nathan unto David, who came to him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceedingly many sheep and oxen:
3 But the poor had none at all, save one little sheep which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up with him, and with his children also, and did eat of his own morsels, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was unto him as his daughter.
4 Now there came a [q]stranger unto the rich man, who [r]refused to take of his own sheep, and of his own oxen to dress for the stranger that was come unto him, but took the poor man’s sheep, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 Then [s]David was exceedingly wroth with the man, and said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing, [t]shall surely die,
6 And he shall restore the lamb (C)fourfold, because he did this thing, and had no pity thereof.
7 Then Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I (D)anointed thee King over Israel, and delivered thee out of the hand of Saul.
8 And gave thee thy lord’s [u]house, and thy lord’s [v]wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel, and of Judah, and would moreover (if that had been too little) have given thee [w]such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the [x]children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11 Thus said the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and will (E)take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of his [y]sin.
12 For thou diddest it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 Then David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath [z]put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to [aa]blaspheme, the child that is born unto thee, shall surely die.
15 ¶ So Nathan departed unto his house: and the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was sick.
16 David therefore besought God for the child, and fasted and [ab]went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17 Then the Elders of his house arose to come unto him, and to cause him to rise from the ground: but he would not, neither did he eat [ac]meat with them.
18 So on the seventh day the child died: and the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how then shall we say unto him, The child is dead, [ad]to vex him more?
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20 Then David [ae]arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped, and afterward came to his own house, and bade that they should set bread before him, and he did eat.
21 Then [af]said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise up, and eat meat,
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted, and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will have mercy on me, that the child may live?
23 But now being dead, wherefore should I now fast? [ag]Can I bring him again anymore? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24 ¶ And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her, (F)and she bare a son, and [ah]he called his name Solomon: also the Lord loved him.
25 For the Lord had sent [ai]by Nathan the [aj]Prophet: therefore [ak](G)he called his name Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him.
26 ¶ Then Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the [al]city of the Kingdom.
27 Therefore Joab sent messengers to David, saying, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of [am]waters.
28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together, and besiege the city, that thou mayest take it, lest [an]the victory be attributed to me.
29 So David gathered all the people together, and went against Rabbah, and besieged it, and took it.
30 (H)And he took their king’s crown from his head, (which weighed a [ao]talent of gold, with precious stones) and it was set on David’s head: and he brought away the spoil of the city in exceedingly great abundance.
31 And he carried away the people that was therein, and put them under [ap]saws, and under iron harrows, and under axes of iron, and cast them into the tile-kiln: even thus did he with all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
13 14 Amnon David’s son defileth his sister Tamar. 20 Tamar is comforted by her brother Absalom. 29 Absalom therefore killeth Amnon.
1 Now after this, so it was, that Absalom the son of David having a fair sister, whose name was [aq]Tamar, Amnon the son of David loved her.
2 And Amnon was so sore vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar: for she was a [ar]virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend called Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtle man,
4 Who said unto him, Why art thou the king’s son, so lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? Then Amnon answered him, I love Tamar my brother Absalom’s sister.
5 And Jonadab said unto him, [as]Lie down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father shall come to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and let her dress meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it of her hand.
6 ¶ So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of [at]cakes in my sight, that I may receive meat at her hand.
7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat.
8 ¶ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he lay down: and she took [au]flour, and knead it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.
9 And she took a pan, and [av]poured them out before him, but he would not eat. Then Amnon said, Cause ye every man to go out from [aw]me: so every man went out from him.
10 Then Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
11 And when she had set them before him to eat, he took her, and said unto her, Come, lie with me, my sister.
12 But she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me: for no such thing (I)ought to be done in Israel: commit not this folly.
13 And I, [ax]whither shall I cause my shame to go? and thou shalt be as one of [ay]the fools in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee speak to the king, for he will not deny me unto thee.
14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice, but being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred wherewith he hated her, was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her: and Amnon said unto her, Up, get thee hence.
16 And she answered him, [az]There is no cause: this evil (to put me away) is greater than the other that thou didst unto me: but he would not hear her,
17 But called his [ba]servant that served him, and said, Put this woman now out from me, and lock the door after her.
18 (And she had a garment of [bb]diverse colors upon her: for with such garments were the King’s daughters that were virgins, appareled) Then his servant brought her out, and locked the door after her.
19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent the garment of diverse colors which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went her way crying.
20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? Now yet be [bc]still, my sister: he is thy brother: let not this thing grieve thine heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.
21 ¶ But when King David heard all these things, he was very wroth.
22 And Absalom said unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
23 ¶ And after the time of two years, Absalom had sheepshearers in [bd]Baal Hazor, which is beside Ephraim, and [be]Absalom called all the king’s sons.
24 And Absalom came to the King, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers: I pray thee, that the king with his servants would go with thy servant.
25 But the King answered Absalom, Nay my son, I pray thee, let us not go all, lest we be chargeable unto thee. Yet Absalom lay sore upon him: howbeit he would not go, but [bf]thanked him.
26 Then said Absalom, But, I pray thee, shall not my brother [bg]Amnon go with us? And the king answered him, Why should he go with thee?
27 But Absalom was instant upon him, and he sent Amnon with him, and all the king’s children.
28 ¶ Now had Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, kill him, fear not, for have not [bh]I commanded you? be bold therefore, and play the men.
29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon, as Absalom had commanded: and all the king’s sons arose, and every man got him up upon his mule, and fled.
30 ¶ And while they were in the way, tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the King’s sons, and there is not one of them left.
31 Then the king arose, and tore his garments, and lay on the [bi]ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
32 And Jonadab the son of Shimeah David’s brother answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the King’s sons: for Amnon only is dead, [bj]because Absalom had reported so, since he forced his sister Tamar.
33 Now therefore let not my lord the King [bk]take the thing so grievously; to think that all the King’s sons are dead: [bl]for Amnon only is dead.
34 ¶ Then Absalom fled: and the young man that kept the watch, lift up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side [bm]behind him.
35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, [bn]so it is.
36 And as soon as he had left speaking, behold, the king’s sons came, and lift up their voices, and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept exceedingly sore.
37 But Absalom fled away, and went to [bo]Talmai the son of Ammihud king of Geshur: and David mourned for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And king David [bp]desired to go forth unto Absalom, because he was pacified concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
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