David and Bathsheba 2 ULT And it happened, at the time of the evening, that David arose from his bed and walked about on the roof of the house of the king. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing. And the woman{ was} very good of appearance. BSB BSB: One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
3 ULT And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said,“Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” BSB BSB: So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 ULT And David sent messengers, and he took her. And she came to him, and he lay with her.(Now she had been sanctifying herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house. BSB BSB: Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.
5 ULT And the woman became pregnant, and she sent and declared to David, and she said,“I{ am} pregnant.” BSB BSB: And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 ULT And David sent to Joab,“Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. BSB BSB: At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.
7 ULT And Uriah came to him, and David asked about the welfare of Joab and about the welfare of the people and about the welfare of the war. BSB BSB: When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going.
8 ULT And David said to Uriah,“Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out from the house of the king, and a gift{ from} the king went out after him. BSB BSB: Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
9 ULT But Uriah lay down{ at} the entrance of the house of the king with all of the servants of his master, and he did not go down to his house. BSB BSB: But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
10 ULT And they declared to David, saying,“Uriah did not go down to his house.” And David said to Uriah,“Are you not coming from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” BSB BSB: And David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey?” David asked Uriah. “Why didn’t you go home?”
11 ULT And Uriah said to David,“The Box and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and the servants of my master{ are} camping on the face of the field. And I, shall I go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? Your life, and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing!” BSB BSB: Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!”
12 ULT And David said to Uriah,“Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem on that day and into the next day. BSB BSB: “Stay here one more day,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 ULT And David called to him, and he ate to his face, and he drank, and he got him drunk. But he went out in the evening to lie down in his bed with the servants of his master, and he did not go down to his house. BSB BSB: Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
David Arranges Uriah’s Death 14 ULT And it happened in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab, and he sent{ it} by the hand of Uriah. BSB BSB: The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 ULT And he wrote in the letter, saying,“Put Uriah in the front of the face of the strongest battle, and turn them back from behind him so he will be struck and die.” BSB BSB: In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”
16 ULT And it happened, when Joab looked at the city, that he put Uriah in the place where he knew that men of valor{ were} there. BSB BSB: So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the strongest enemy soldiers were.
17 ULT And the men of the city came out, and they fought with Joab, and some of the people from the servants of David fell. And Uriah the Hittite also died. BSB BSB: And when the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of David’s servants fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 ULT And Joab sent, and he declared to David all of the things of the battle. BSB BSB: Joab sent to David a full account of the battle
19 ULT And he commanded the messenger, saying,“When you have finished to speak to the king all of the things of the battle, BSB BSB: and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king a full account of the battle,
20 ULT it will be, if the heat of the king rises and he says to you,‘Why did you draw near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? BSB BSB: if the king’s anger flares, he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Did you not realize they would shoot from atop the wall?
21 ULT Who struck Abimelech, the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw a piece of a millstone onto him from the wall, and he died in Thebez? Why did you draw near to the wall?’ then you shall say,‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’” BSB BSB: Who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then you are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.’”
22 ULT So the messenger went, and he came and declared to David all that Joab had sent him{ to say}. BSB BSB: So the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say.
23 ULT And the messenger said to David that“the men became strong against us and they came out against us{ to} the field, but we were against them to the entrance of the gate. BSB BSB: The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.
24 ULT And the shooters shot at your servants from the wall, and some of the servants of the king died, and also your servant Uriah the Hittite died.” BSB BSB: Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s servants were killed. And your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.”
25 ULT And David said to the messenger,“Thus you shall say to Joab,‘May this matter not be bad in your eyes, for like this and like this the sword devours. Strengthen your battle against the city and destroy it.’ So strengthen him.” BSB BSB: Then David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him with these words.”
David Marries Bathsheba 26 ULT And the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her man had died. And she lamented for her husband. BSB BSB: When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27 ULT And the mourning passed, and David sent and gathered her to his house, and she became a wife to him, and she bore a son to him. But the thing that David had done was bad in the eyes of Yahweh. BSB BSB: And when the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.