| King James Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1And 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. | 1One spring day, during the time of year when kings go off to war, David sent out Joab, along with his personal staff and all of Israel's army. They utterly destroyed the Ammonites and then attacked Rabbah while David remained 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. | 2Late one afternoon about dusk, David got up from his couch and was walking around on the roof of the royal palace. From there he watched a woman taking a bath, and she was very beautiful to look at. |
| 3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? | 3David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?" |
| 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. | 4So David sent some messengers, took her from her home, and she went to him, and he had sex with her. (She had been consecrating herself following her menstrual separation.) Then she returned to her home. |
| 5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. | 5The woman conceived, and she sent this message to David: "I'm pregnant." |
| 6And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. | 6So David summoned Joab, and told him, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So 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 inquired about how Joab was doing, how the army was doing, and how the war was progressing. |
| 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 told Uriah, "Go on down to your house and relax a while." So Uriah left the king's palace, and the king sent a gift along after him. |
| 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 spent the night sleeping in the alcove of the king's palace in the company of all his master's staff members. He refused to go down to his own home. |
| 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? | 10When David was told that Uriah hadn't gone home the previous night, he quizzed him, "You just arrived from a long journey, so why didn't you go down to your own house?" |
| 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 replied, "The ark, along with Israel and Judah, are encamped in tents, while my commanding officer Joab and my master's staff members are camping out in the open fields. Should I go home, eat, drink, and have sex with my wife? Not on your life! I won't do something like this, will I?" |
| 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. | 12Then David invited Uriah, "Stay here today, and tomorrow I'll send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem all 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. | 13Then at David's invitation, he and Uriah dined and drank wine together, and David got him drunk. Later that evening, Uriah went out to lie on a couch in the company of his lord's servants, and he did not go down to his house. |
| 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 sent a message to Joab that Uriah took with him in his hand. |
| 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. | 15In the message, he wrote: "Assign Uriah to the most difficult fighting at the battle front, and then withdraw from him so that he will 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. | 16So as Joab began to attack the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew valiant men would be stationed. |
| 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. | 17When the men of the city came out to fight Joab, some of David's army staff members fell, and Uriah the Hittite died, too. |
| 18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; | 18Then Joab sent word to David about everything that had happened at the battle. |
| 19And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, | 19He instructed the courier, "When you have finished conveying all the news about the battle to the king, |
| 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? | 20if the king starts to get angry and asks you, 'Why did you get so near the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot from 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. | 21Who killed Jerubbesheth's son Abimelech? Didn't a woman kill him by throwing an upper millstone on him from the wall at Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?' then tell him, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'" |
| 22So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for. | 22So the messenger left Joab, set out for Jerusalem, and disclosed to David everything that 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 told David, "The men surprised us and attacked us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. |
| 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. | 24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's staff members are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite has died as well." |
| 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 responded to the messenger, "Here's what you're to tell Joab: 'Don't be troubled by this incident, because the battle sword consumes one or another from time to time. Consolidate your attack against the city and conquer it.' Be sure to encourage him." |
| 26And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. | 26When Uriah's wife heard about the death of her husband Uriah, she went into mourning for the head of her household. |
| 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 her mourning period was completed, David sent for her, brought her to his palace, and she became his wife. Later on, she bore him a son. Meanwhile, what David had done grieved the LORD, |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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