Bathsheba the naked beauty
1 Chronicles 20:1 1In the spring of the year, when kings at war typically return to the battlefield, David sent his army to finish the fight with Ammon. He sent his commander Joab, all the officers, and all the soldiers to Ammon’s capital of Rabbah. [1] But David stayed behind, in Jerusalem.
2Late one afternoon, after a siesta, David got up and walked to the flat rooftop [2] of his palace. He saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. 3David had his people find out who she was. They gave him this report: “The woman is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” [3] 4David sent for Bathsheba. She came to him, he had sex with her, [4] then she went home. At the time of the bath, she was purifying herself at the end of her menstrual cycle. [5] 5She became pregnant. She sent the message to David. “I’m pregnant.”
6David sent a message to Joab: “Tell Uriah the Hittite to report to me.” Joab did. 7David asked Uriah how the war was going and how Joab and the soldiers were doing. Uriah won’t go home to Bathsheba
8Afterward, David told him, “Go home, wash up, [6] and relax.” David sent him away with a gift. [7] 9Uriah did not go home to his wife. He slept on a mat by the entrance into David’s palace, where the guards were posted.
10The next morning, David’s people told the king, “Uriah didn’t go home last night.” David called in Uriah and asked, “What’s going on with you? You’re back from a long trip and you didn’t even go to your own home. Why not?”
11Uriah said, “The sacred Box of the Ten Commandments [8] and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are camped in tents on a battlefront. My commander Joab and many of his soldiers are sleeping in the open fields. How can I go into the comfort of my home to eat and rest and sleep in the arms of my wife? I won’t do it. I swear it on the life of my king.”
12David told him, “Okay, then stay here today. I’ll send you back to the battlefront tomorrow.” Uriah stayed in Jerusalem. 13The next day, David invited him to eat and drink with him. David got him good and drunk. But in the evening, Uriah still refused to go home. [9] Once again he slept on a mat outside the palace near the guards. Uriah KIA
14The next morning, David wrote a sealed message [10] for Uriah to deliver to Joab. 15The message read, “Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is most intense. Have him take the point, then pull everyone else back so he’s left alone to die fighting.”
16Joab surveyed the battlefield. He saw where the enemy’s best warriors were fighting. He ordered Uriah to attack them. 17Ammon’s defenders charged out of the gates and engaged Uriah and the Israelite soldiers with him. Some of David’s men were killed in action there. Uriah was among them. David gets news of Uriah’s death
18Joab sent a messenger to deliver the news to David. 19Joab told the messenger, “Tell the king everything that happened in the firefight. 20If he gets mad, he might ask why I didn’t anticipate that the enemy would use their archers to fire from the walls. 21If he does, remind him that even Gideon’s son Abimelech died that way. A woman on the wall at Thebez dropped a grain-grinding stone on his head. [11] It happens. And make sure to tell him Uriah the Hittite is dead.”
22The messenger told David everything Joab said. 23He told David, “The enemy overpowered us. They charged us onto the field, but we pushed them back to their city gate. 24That’s when their archers opened fire from the walls. They killed some of your men. Your soldier Uriah the Hittite is dead, too.”
25David told the messenger, “Give this reply to Joab: ‘Don’t let this setback bother you. A battle sword doesn’t care who you are. So take the fight to the enemy and capture that city.’ Give Joab that message to encourage him.” [12] David marries Bathsheba
26When Uriah’s wife got the news that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. [13] 27When the mourning was over, David sent for her and married her. She gave birth to David’s son. But the LORD was angry about what David did.
Related maps
1In the spring of the year, when kings at war typically return to the battlefield, David sent his army to finish the fight with Ammon. He sent his commander Joab, all the officers, and all the soldiers to Ammon’s capital of Rabbah. [1] But David stayed behind, in Jerusalem.
2Late one afternoon, after a siesta, David got up and walked to the flat rooftop [2] of his palace. He saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. 3David had his people find out who she was. They gave him this report: “The woman is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” [3] 4David sent for Bathsheba. She came to him, he had sex with her, [4] then she went home. At the time of the bath, she was purifying herself at the end of her menstrual cycle. [5] 5She became pregnant. She sent the message to David. “I’m pregnant.”
6David sent a message to Joab: “Tell Uriah the Hittite to report to me.” Joab did. 7David asked Uriah how the war was going and how Joab and the soldiers were doing.
10The next morning, David’s people told the king, “Uriah didn’t go home last night.” David called in Uriah and asked, “What’s going on with you? You’re back from a long trip and you didn’t even go to your own home. Why not?”
11Uriah said, “The sacred Box of the Ten Commandments [8] and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are camped in tents on a battlefront. My commander Joab and many of his soldiers are sleeping in the open fields. How can I go into the comfort of my home to eat and rest and sleep in the arms of my wife? I won’t do it. I swear it on the life of my king.”
12David told him, “Okay, then stay here today. I’ll send you back to the battlefront tomorrow.” Uriah stayed in Jerusalem. 13The next day, David invited him to eat and drink with him. David got him good and drunk. But in the evening, Uriah still refused to go home. [9] Once again he slept on a mat outside the palace near the guards.
16Joab surveyed the battlefield. He saw where the enemy’s best warriors were fighting. He ordered Uriah to attack them. 17Ammon’s defenders charged out of the gates and engaged Uriah and the Israelite soldiers with him. Some of David’s men were killed in action there. Uriah was among them.
22The messenger told David everything Joab said. 23He told David, “The enemy overpowered us. They charged us onto the field, but we pushed them back to their city gate. 24That’s when their archers opened fire from the walls. They killed some of your men. Your soldier Uriah the Hittite is dead, too.”
25David told the messenger, “Give this reply to Joab: ‘Don’t let this setback bother you. A battle sword doesn’t care who you are. So take the fight to the enemy and capture that city.’ Give Joab that message to encourage him.” [12]
2Late one afternoon, after a siesta, David got up and walked to the flat rooftop [2] of his palace. He saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. 3David had his people find out who she was. They gave him this report: “The woman is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” [3] 4David sent for Bathsheba. She came to him, he had sex with her, [4] then she went home. At the time of the bath, she was purifying herself at the end of her menstrual cycle. [5] 5She became pregnant. She sent the message to David. “I’m pregnant.”
6David sent a message to Joab: “Tell Uriah the Hittite to report to me.” Joab did. 7David asked Uriah how the war was going and how Joab and the soldiers were doing.
Uriah won’t go home to Bathsheba
8Afterward, David told him, “Go home, wash up, [6] and relax.” David sent him away with a gift. [7] 9Uriah did not go home to his wife. He slept on a mat by the entrance into David’s palace, where the guards were posted.10The next morning, David’s people told the king, “Uriah didn’t go home last night.” David called in Uriah and asked, “What’s going on with you? You’re back from a long trip and you didn’t even go to your own home. Why not?”
11Uriah said, “The sacred Box of the Ten Commandments [8] and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are camped in tents on a battlefront. My commander Joab and many of his soldiers are sleeping in the open fields. How can I go into the comfort of my home to eat and rest and sleep in the arms of my wife? I won’t do it. I swear it on the life of my king.”
12David told him, “Okay, then stay here today. I’ll send you back to the battlefront tomorrow.” Uriah stayed in Jerusalem. 13The next day, David invited him to eat and drink with him. David got him good and drunk. But in the evening, Uriah still refused to go home. [9] Once again he slept on a mat outside the palace near the guards.
Uriah KIA
14The next morning, David wrote a sealed message [10] for Uriah to deliver to Joab. 15The message read, “Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is most intense. Have him take the point, then pull everyone else back so he’s left alone to die fighting.”16Joab surveyed the battlefield. He saw where the enemy’s best warriors were fighting. He ordered Uriah to attack them. 17Ammon’s defenders charged out of the gates and engaged Uriah and the Israelite soldiers with him. Some of David’s men were killed in action there. Uriah was among them.
David gets news of Uriah’s death
18Joab sent a messenger to deliver the news to David. 19Joab told the messenger, “Tell the king everything that happened in the firefight. 20If he gets mad, he might ask why I didn’t anticipate that the enemy would use their archers to fire from the walls. 21If he does, remind him that even Gideon’s son Abimelech died that way. A woman on the wall at Thebez dropped a grain-grinding stone on his head. [11] It happens. And make sure to tell him Uriah the Hittite is dead.”22The messenger told David everything Joab said. 23He told David, “The enemy overpowered us. They charged us onto the field, but we pushed them back to their city gate. 24That’s when their archers opened fire from the walls. They killed some of your men. Your soldier Uriah the Hittite is dead, too.”
25David told the messenger, “Give this reply to Joab: ‘Don’t let this setback bother you. A battle sword doesn’t care who you are. So take the fight to the enemy and capture that city.’ Give Joab that message to encourage him.” [12]
