2 Samuel 11

Thomson^{(i) 1} And when the season of the year returned for kings to go out to battle, David sent out Joab, and all his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbath: but David abode at Jerusalem. ² And it happened, that one afternoon, David arose from his couch, and walked on the roof of the king's house, and from the top of the house he saw a woman bathing, and she was very beautiful. ³ So David sent and sought out the woman, and one said, Is not this Bersabe, the daughter of Eliab, the wife of Ourias, the Chettite? ⁴ Whereupon David sent messengers, and took her, and went in unto her, and lay with her. And when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵ And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, saying, I am with child. ⁶ Whereupon David sent to Joab, saying, Send Ourias the Chettite to me. So Joab sent Ourias to David. ⁷ And on his arrival, Ourias went directly to him. And when David had inquired of the welfare of Joab, and the welfare of the people, and the success of the war, ⁸ he said to Ourias, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. So Ourias departed from the king's house, and there was sent after him a portion of meat from the king. ⁹ But Ourias laid himself down to sleep at the king's gate, with the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ And when they told David, saying, Ourias did not go down to his house, David said to Ourias, Art thou not come from a journey, why then didst thou not go down to thy house? ¹¹ And Ourias said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Juda, dwell in tents, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord encamp on the ground, and shall I go down to my house to eat and drink, and lie with my wife? How can I do it? As thy soul liveth, I will do no such thing. ¹² Then David said to Ourias, Tarry here to-day also, and tomorrow I will dismiss thee. So Ourias tarried at Jerusalem that day and the morrow. ¹³ And David invited him, and he ate and drank in his presence. But though he caused him to drink, and made him drunk, yet he went out in the evening, to sleep on his bed with the king's servants, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁴ And in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Ourias, ¹⁵ and in the letter he wrote, saying, Set Ourias in the front of the hottest battle, and retire from him, that he may be smitten and die. ¹⁶ So in disposing the guards against the city, Joab stationed Ourias in the place where he knew there were men of valour. ¹⁷ And the men of the city sallied out, and fought with Joab, and some of the people of David's servants fell, and Ourias the Chittite died also. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent and told David all the circumstances of the battle, ¹⁹ which were to be delivered verbally to the king. And he gave a charge to the messenger, saying, When thou hast finished telling the king all the circumstances of the battle, ²⁰ if it should happen that the king's anger rise, and he should say to thee, Why did you approach so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the top of the wall? ²¹ Who smote Abimelech son of Jerobaal, son of Ner? Did not a woman throw a piece of a millstone on him from the top of the wall, so that he died at Thamasi? Why did you approach the wall? Then thou shalt say, Thy servant Ourias the Chettite is also dead. ²² So Joab's messenger went to Jerusalem to the king, and when he arrived and told David all that Joab mentioned to him; all the circumstances of the battle, David was inflamed with wrath against Joab, and said to the messenger, Why did you approach so near the city to fight? Did you not know that you would be smitten from the wall? Who smote Abimelech, son of Jerobaal? Did not a woman throw a millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died at Thamasi? Why did you approach so near the wall? ²³ Then the messenger said to David, The men took courage against us, and sallied out upon us into the field, and when we continued our pursuit of them, even to the doors of the gate, ²⁴ the archers from the wall shot at thy servants, so that some of the king's servants were slain, and thy servant Ourias the Chettite is dead also. ²⁵ Thereupon David said to the messenger, Thus shaft thou say to Joab, Let not this be grievous in thy sight; for the sword devoureth sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other. Make thy battle strong against the city, and block it up, and enclose it with strong works. ²⁶ Now when the wife of Ourias heard that Ourias her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the deed which David had done appeared evil in the sight of the Lord;