11 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. ² Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. ³ David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. ⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. ⁷ When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. ⁹ But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” ¹² David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. ¹³ David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” ¹⁶ So while Yo’av had the city under siege, he assigned Uriyah to the place where he knew the toughest defenders were. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought Yo’av; a number of people fell, including some of David’s servants, with Uriyah the Hitti among the dead.

¹⁸ Yo’av sent a message to David reporting all the news concerning the war, ¹⁹ and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the war, ²⁰ he may become angry and ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Didn’t you think about the person who struck Avimelekh the son of Yerubeshet, that a woman threw an upper millstone down on him from the wall, so that he died at Tevetz? Why did you go so near the wall?’ If he says this, tell him, ‘Your servant Uriyah is dead also.’” ²² So the messenger left, and on arrival he told David all that Yo’av had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men were overpowering us and came out after us into the countryside. But we chased them back all the way to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ The archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; also your servant Uriyah the Hitti is dead.” ²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Tell Yo’av, ‘Don’t let this matter get you down — the sword devours in one way or another. Intensify your battle against the city, and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

²⁶ When the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband was dead, she mourned her husband. ²⁷ When the mourning was over, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son.

But Adonai saw what David had done as evil.

12 Adonai sent Natan to David. He came and said to him, “In a certain city there were two men, one rich, the other poor. ² The rich man had vast flocks and herds; ³ but the poor man had nothing, except for one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared. It had grown up with him and his children; it ate from his plate, drank from his cup, lay on his chest — it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ One day a traveler visited the rich man, and instead of picking an animal from his own flock or herd to cook for his visitor, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to him.”

⁵ David exploded with anger against the man and said to Natan, “As Adonai lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ⁶ For doing such a thing, he has to pay back four times the value of the lamb — and also because he had no pity.”

⁷ Natan said to David, “You are the man.

“Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el says: ‘I anointed you king over Isra’el. I rescued you from the power of Sha’ul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives to embrace. I gave you the house of Isra’el and the house of Y’hudah. And if that had been too little, I would have added to you a lot more.

⁹ “‘So why have you shown such contempt for the word of Adonai and done what I see as evil? You murdered Uriyah the Hitti with the sword and taken his wife as your own wife; you put him to death with the sword of the people of ‘Amon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house — because you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriyah the Hitti as your own wife.’ ¹¹ Here is what Adonai says: ‘I will generate evil against you out of your own household. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor; he will go to bed with your wives, and everyone will know about it. ¹² For you did it secretly, but I will do this before all Isra’el in broad daylight.’”

¹³ David said to Natan, “I have sinned against Adonai.”

Natan said to David, “Adonai also has taken away your sin. You will not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this act you have so greatly blasphemed Adonai, the child born to you must die.” ¹⁵ Then Natan returned to his house.

Adonai struck the child that Uriyah’s wife had borne to David, and it became very ill. ¹⁶ David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ The court officials got up and stood next to him trying to get him off the ground, but he refused, and he wouldn’t eat food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day, the child died. The servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, because they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he didn’t listen to us; if we tell him now that the child is dead, he may do himself some harm.” ¹⁹ But when David saw his servants whispering to each other, he suspected that the child was dead. David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” and they answered, “He is dead.”

²⁰ Then David got up off the ground, washed, anointed himself and changed his clothes. He went into the house of Adonai and worshipped; then he went to his own palace; and when he asked for food, they served it to him; and he ate. ²¹ His servants asked him, “What are you doing? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat food!” ²² He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; because I thought, ‘Maybe Adonai will show his grace to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But now that he’s dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

²⁴ David comforted his wife Bat-Sheva, came to her and went to bed with her; she gave birth to a son and named him Shlomo. Adonai loved him ²⁵ and sent through Natan the prophet to have him named Y’didyah [loved by God], for Adonai’s sake.

²⁶ Yo’av fought against Rabbah of the people of ‘Amon and took the royal city. ²⁷ Yo’av sent people to David with this message: “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. ²⁸ Therefore, assemble the rest of the people; lay siege to the city; and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city; and it will be named after me!” ²⁹ David assembled all the people, went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it. ³⁰ He took the crown off Malkam’s head; it weighed sixty-six pounds, with its gold and precious stones; and it was placed on David’s head. He carried off great quantities of spoil from the city. ³¹ In addition, he expelled the people who were in it and set them to work with saws, iron harrows and iron axes, or had them cross over to work in the brick factory. This is what he did to all the cities of the people of ‘Amon. Then David and all the people returned to Yerushalayim.