2 Samuel

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.

1Spring came, the time of year when kings went out to fight. David sent Joab, the leader of his army, with his soldiers and all Israel. They beat the Ammonites and surrounded their city, Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

2And 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.

2One evening David got up from his bed. He walked around on the flat roof of the king's house. From up there he saw a woman taking a bath. She was very beautiful.

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

3David sent someone to find out who she was. The man said, "That is Bathsheba. Her father is Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite."

4And 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.

4David sent men to bring her to him. She came, and David slept with her. She had just made herself clean, the way God's law told women to. Then she went back home.

Note"Purified from her uncleanness" does not mean she was dirty. It means she had just finished the days and the washing that God's law set for women each month.

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

5Later the woman knew she was going to have a baby. She sent a message to David that said, "I am going to have a baby."

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

6So David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David.

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

7When Uriah arrived, David asked him questions. He asked how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was going.

8And 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.

8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and rest." Uriah left the king's house. The king sent a gift of food after him.

Note"Wash your feet" was a normal way of saying "go home and rest." And the "mess of meat" the king sent was a gift of food of any kind, not only meat.

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

9But Uriah did not go down to his house. He slept by the door of the king's house with the king's other servants.

10And 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?

10People told David, "Uriah did not go home." So David asked him, "You just came back from a long trip. Why didn't you go home?"

11And 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.

11Uriah said, "The ark, the special gold box that showed God was with Israel, is out in a tent. The soldiers of Israel and Judah are living in tents too. Joab and my master's men sleep out in open fields. How could I go home to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you are alive, I will not do that."

12And 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.

12David said, "Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

13And 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.

13David asked Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he made Uriah drunk. That evening Uriah went out and slept with the king's servants again. He still did not go home.

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

14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab. He sent the letter with Uriah, who carried it himself.

15And 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.

15The letter said, "Put Uriah at the front, where the fighting is hardest. Then pull the other men back from him. Let him be struck down and killed."

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

16Joab was watching the city carefully. He put Uriah in the spot where he knew the strongest enemy soldiers were.

17And 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.

17The men of the city came out and fought against Joab. Some of David's soldiers were killed. Uriah the Hittite was killed too.

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

18Then Joab sent a messenger to tell David everything about the fighting.

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

19Joab told the messenger what to do. He said, "First tell the king all about the battle."

20And 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?

20"The king may get angry. He may ask you, 'Why did you fight so close to the city? Didn't you know they shoot arrows from the top of the wall?'"

21Who 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.

21"'Remember Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth. A woman dropped a heavy grinding stone on him from a wall. He died in the town of Thebez. So why did you go near the wall?' If the king says that, tell him, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.'"

NoteA millstone was a big round stone used to grind grain into flour. The top stone was heavy enough to kill a man if it fell on him.

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

22So the messenger went to David. He told him everything Joab had sent him to say.

23And 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.

23The messenger said, "Their men were stronger and came out at us in the open field. But we pushed them back to the gate of the city."

24And 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.

24"Then men on top of the wall shot arrows at your soldiers. Some of the king's men were killed. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too."

25Then 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.

25David said to the messenger, "Tell Joab this: 'Do not let this upset you. A sword kills one man as easily as another. Fight harder against the city and tear it down.' Tell Joab to keep his courage."

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

26Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead. She cried and mourned for him.

27And 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.

27When the time of mourning was over, David sent for her. She came to his house and became his wife, and she had a son. But what David had done was wrong in the LORD's eyes.