| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. | 1In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. |
| 2One 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. | 2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing--a very beautiful woman. |
| 3So 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.” | 3So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, "This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite." |
| 4Then 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. | 4David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home. |
| 5And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” | 5The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: "I am pregnant." |
| 6At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. | 6David sent orders to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. |
| 7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing with the war. | 7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. |
| 8Then 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. | 8Then 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. |
| 9But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house. | 9But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master's servants; he did not go down to his house. |
| 10And 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?” | 10When it was reported to David, "Uriah didn't go home," David questioned Uriah, "Haven't you just come from a journey? Why didn't you go home?" |
| 11Uriah 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!” | 11Uriah answered David, "The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!"" |
| 12“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. | 12Stay here today also," David said to Uriah, "and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. |
| 13Then 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. | 13Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master's servants, but he did not go home. |
| 14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. | 14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. |
| 15In 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.” | 15In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies. |
| 16So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he saw the strongest enemy soldiers. | 16When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. |
| 17And when the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of David’s servants fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died. | 17Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David's soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hittite also died. |
| 18Joab sent to David a full account of the battle | 18Joab sent someone to report to David all the details of the battle. |
| 19and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle, | 19He commanded the messenger, "When you've finished telling the king all the details of the battle-- |
| 20if 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? | 20if the king's anger gets stirred up and he asks you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall? |
| 21Who was the one to strike 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 so, then you are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.’ ” | 21At Thebez, who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Didn't a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the top of the wall so that he died? Why did you get so close to the wall?'--then say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'" |
| 22So the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say. | 22Then the messenger left. When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell. |
| 23The 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. | 23The messenger reported to David, "The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the gate. |
| 24Then 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.” | 24However, the archers shot down on your soldiers from the top of the wall, and some of the king's soldiers died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead." |
| 25Then 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.” | 25David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.' Encourage him." |
| 26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. | 26When Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah had died, she mourned for him. |
| 27And 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. | 27When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the LORD considered what David had done to be evil. |
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