2 Samuel 11

When Kings Slip

1 In the spring, when kings usually go to war, David sent Joab and his army to fight the Ammonites and lay siege to Rabbah. But David stayed back in Jerusalem.

2 One evening, David got up from his nap and walked around on the palace roof. He looked down and saw a fine woman taking a bath. She was looking good.

3 He asked, “Listen, who is that,” They said, “That is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

4 But David still sent for her. She came to the palace, and he slept with her. (She had just purified herself from her period.) Then she went home.

5 A little while later, she sent word to David: “I am pregnant.”

The Cover-up Begins

6 David sent word to Joab: “Send Uriah the Hittite back to me.” Joab did.

7 When Uriah arrived, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing, how the war was going.

8 Then he said, “Go home, wash your feet, relax.” David even sent him a gift.

9 But Uriah did not go home, he slept at the entrance of the palace with the other servants.

10 When David heard Uriah did not go home, he asked, “What is up, bro, You just got back from the field, why did you not go home?”

11 Uriah said, “The Ark, Israel, and Judah are living in tents. Joab and the army are camping out. How I look going home to eat, drink, and be with my wife, I cannot do that while my boys are out there.”

David Tries Again

12 David said, “Alright, stay here today. I will send you back tomorrow.” So Uriah stayed another night.

13 David got him drunk at dinner, thinking he would go home. But Uriah still slept with the palace servants, did not go to his house.

The Fatal Setup

14 The next morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.

15 In the letter, David said: “Put Uriah on the front lines where the fight’s hottest. Then pull back so he gets killed.”

16 So Joab placed Uriah where the enemy was hitting hard.

17 And sure enough, the enemy struck, some of David’s men died, and Uriah got killed too.

Damage Control

18 Joab sent a report to David about everything that went down in the battle.

19 He told the messenger, “When you tell the king,

20 If he gets mad about how close we got to the wall,

21 And says, ‘Did you not all learn from the death of Abimelech?’, just say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.’”

David’s Cold Response

22 The messenger delivered the full report.

23 He said, “They came out strong. We pushed them back to the city gate.”

24 “Then archers shot from the wall and killed some of our men, including Uriah.”

25 David said, “Tell Joab not to trip. The sword takes people out, one by one. Just keep pushing the fight and take that city.”

Aftermath

26 When Bathsheba heard her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

27 After the mourning period, David brought her to the palace. She became his wife and had his son. But what David did, it was foul in God’s eyes.