David and Bathsheba 2 WBS And it came to pass in an evening, 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. 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 WBS And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, 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 WBS And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; for she was purified 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 WBS And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. BSB BSB: And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 WBS And David sent to Joab, saying , Send me Uriah the Hittite. And 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 WBS And when Uriah had come to him, David inquired of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. BSB BSB: When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going.
8 WBS 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. 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 WBS 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. 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 WBS And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house, David said to Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy 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 WBS And Uriah said to 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 my 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. 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 WBS 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. 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 WBS And when David had called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk: and at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not 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 WBS And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. BSB BSB: The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 WBS And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the front of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, 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 WBS And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew that valiant men were . BSB BSB: So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the strongest enemy soldiers were.
17 WBS 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. 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 WBS Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; BSB BSB: Joab sent to David a full account of the battle
19 WBS And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king, BSB BSB: and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king a full account of the battle,
20 WBS And if the king's wrath shall rise, and he shall say to thee, Why approached ye so nigh to the city for the fight? knew ye not 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 WBS 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. 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 WBS So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. BSB BSB: So the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say.
23 WBS And the messenger said to David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were upon them even 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 WBS And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants: and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 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 WBS Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to 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. 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 WBS And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. BSB BSB: When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27 WBS And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. 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.