2 Samuel 11

1 And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they laid waste the [land of the] children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem.

In the spring, at the time of year when kings go out to war, David sent out Joab and his officers and the whole Israelite army on an attack. They massacred the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. However, David remained behind in Jerusalem.

2 And it came to pass at evening time that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful;

Late one afternoon, David got up from taking a nap and was walking on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

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

David sent someone to find out about the woman. He was told, “It's Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; and she had purified herself from her uncleanness; and she returned to her house.

David sent messengers to fetch her. When she came to him, he had sex with her. (Now she had just purified herself from having her period.) Afterwards she went back home.

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

Bathsheba became pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him, “I'm pregnant.”

6 And David sent to Joab [saying], Send me Urijah the Hittite. And Joab sent Urijah to David.

So David sent a message to Joab, telling him, “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” Joab sent him to David.

7 And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

When Uriah came to see him, David asked him how Joab was doing, and how the army was doing, and how the war was going.

8 And David said to Urijah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Urijah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him presents from the king.

Then David told Uriah, “Go home now and have a rest.” Uriah left the palace, and the king sent him a gift after he'd gone.

9 And Urijah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

But Uriah didn't go home. He slept in the guardroom at the palace entrance with all the king's guards.

10 And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

David was told, “Uriah didn't go home,” so he asked Uriah, “Haven't you just got back from being away? Why didn't you go home?”

11 And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my 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.

Uriah answered, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and my master Joab and his men are camped out in the open. How can I go home and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? On my life I won't do such a thing!”

12 And David said to Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

David told him, “Stay here today, and tomorrow I'll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day, and the next.

13 And David invited him, and he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but did not go down to his house.

David invited Uriah to dinner. Uriah ate and drank with him, and David got Uriah drunk. But in the evening he went to sleep on his mat with the king's guards, and didn't go home.

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

In the morning David wrote Joab a letter, and gave it to Uriah to take to him.

15 And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Urijah in the front of the thickest fight, and withdraw from him, that he may be smitten and die.

In the letter, David told Joab, “Put Uriah right in the front where the fighting is worst, and then pull back behind him so that he'll be attacked and killed.”

16 And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

As Joab besieged the town, he made Uriah take a place where he knew the strongest enemy men would be fighting.

17 And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab; and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David; and Urijah the Hittite died also.

When the town's defenders came out and attacked Joab, some of David's men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

Joab sent David a full report about the battle.

19 and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

He ordered the messenger, saying, “When you've finished telling the king all about the battle,

20 and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

if the king's gets angry and asks you, ‘Why did you get so near to the town in the attack? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?

21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why did ye go near the wall? — then say thou, Thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

Who killed Abimelech, son of Jerub-Besheth? Wasn't it a woman who dropped a millstone on him from the wall, killing him there in Thebez? Why on earth did you get so close to the wall?’ Just tell him, ‘In addition, your officer Uriah the Hittite was killed.’”

22 And the messenger went; and he came and told David all that Joab had sent him for.

The messenger left, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had directed him to say.

23 And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

The messenger explained to David, “The defenders were stronger than us, and they came out at us in the open, but we forced them back to the entrance of the town gate.

24 And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

Their archers shot at us from the wall, and killed some of the king's men. Your officer Uriah the Hittite was also killed.”

25 Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle strong against the city, and overthrow it; — and encourage him.

Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab this: ‘Don't be upset about this, for the sword destroys people at random. Press on with your attack against the town and conquer it.’ Encourage him by telling him this.”

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

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her 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 Jehovah.

Once the period of mourning was over, David sent for her to be brought to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done was evil in the Lord's sight.