| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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?" | 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?" |
| 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. | 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. |
| 5The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, "I'm pregnant." | 5The woman conceived, and she sent this message to David: "I'm pregnant." |
| 6So David sent a message to Joab that said, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. | 6So David summoned Joab, and told him, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. |
| 7When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going. | 7When Uriah arrived, David inquired about how Joab was doing, how the army was doing, and how the war was progressing. |
| 8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your home and relax." When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him. | 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 stayed at the door of the palace with all the servants of his lord. He did not go 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. |
| 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?" | 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?" |
| 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!" | 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?" |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. | 14The next morning, David sent a message to Joab that Uriah took with him in his hand. |
| 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." | 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." |
| 16So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. | 16So as Joab began to attack the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew valiant men would be stationed. |
| 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. | 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 a full battle report to David. | 18Then Joab sent word to David about everything that had happened at the battle. |
| 19He instructed the messenger as follows: "When you finish giving the battle report to the king, | 19He instructed the courier, "When you have finished conveying all the news about the battle to the king, |
| 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? | 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 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.'" | 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 departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. | 22So the messenger left Joab, set out for Jerusalem, and disclosed to David everything that Joab had sent him to say. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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." | 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." |
| 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." | 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." |
| 26When Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. | 26When Uriah's wife heard about the death of her husband Uriah, she went into mourning for the head of her household. |
| 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. | 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, |
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