| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. | 1In the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. |
| 2It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. | 2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive. |
| 3And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” | 3So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" |
| 4So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. | 4David sent some messengers to get her. She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) Then she returned to her home. |
| 5And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” | 5The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, "I'm pregnant." |
| 6So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. | 6So David sent a message to Joab that said, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. |
| 7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. | 7When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going. |
| 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. | 8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your home and relax." When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him. |
| 9But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. | 9But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house. |
| 10When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” | 10So they informed David, "Uriah has not gone down to his house." So David said to Uriah, "Haven't you just arrived from a journey? Why haven't you gone down to your house?" |
| 11Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” | 11Uriah replied to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord's soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations with my wife? As surely as you are alive, I will not do this thing!" |
| 12Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. | 12So David said to Uriah, "Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one. |
| 13And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. | 13Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house. |
| 14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. | 14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. |
| 15In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” | 15In the letter he wrote: "Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed." |
| 16And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. | 16So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. |
| 17And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. | 17When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David's soldiers fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died. |
| 18Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. | 18Then Joab sent a full battle report to David. |
| 19And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, | 19He instructed the messenger as follows: "When you finish giving the battle report to the king, |
| 20then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? | 20if the king becomes angry and asks you, 'Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn't you realize they would shoot from the wall? |
| 21Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’” | 21Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?' just say to him, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.'" |
| 22So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. | 22So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. |
| 23The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. | 23The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and attacked us in the field. But we forced them to retreat all the way to the door of the city gate. |
| 24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” | 24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king's soldiers died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead." |
| 25David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.” | 25David said to the messenger, "Tell Joab, 'Don't let this thing upset you. There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. Press the battle against the city and conquer it.' Encourage him with these words." |
| 26When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. | 26When Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. |
| 27And when the mourning was over, 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. | 27When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the LORD. |
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