2 Samuel11
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem.
2And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, 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 to look upon.
3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned unto her house.
5And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7And when Uriah was come unto him, David asked of him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
8And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of food from the king.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Art thou not come from a journey? wherefore didst thou not go down unto thy house?
11And Uriah said unto 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 field; 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.
12And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16And it came to pass, when Joab kept watch upon the city, that he assigned Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men were.
17And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19and he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling all the things concerning the war unto the king,
20it shall be that, if the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore went ye so nigh unto the city to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
21who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? why went ye so nigh the wall? then shalt thou say, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
22So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23And the messenger said unto David, The men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entrance of the gate.
24And the shooters shot at thy servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
25Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another; make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
26And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband.
27And when the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased Jehovah.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Samuel 11.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: David's adultery. (1–5). He tries to conceal his crime. (6–13). Uriah murdered. (14–27).
vv1-5
Observe the occasions of David's sin; what led to it. 1. Neglect of his business. He tarried at Jerusalem. When we are out of the way of our duty, we are in temptation. 2. Love of ease: idleness gives great advantage to the tempter. 3. A wandering eye. He had not, like Job, made a covenant with his eyes, or, at this time, he had forgotten it. And observe the steps of the sin. See how the way of sin is down-hill; when men begin to do evil, they cannot soon stop. Observe the aggravations of the sin. How could David rebuke or punish that in others, of which he was conscious that he himself was guilty?
vv6-13
Giving way to sin hardens the heart, and provokes the departure of the Holy Spirit. Robbing a man of his reason, is worse than robbing him of his money; and drawing him into sin, is worse than drawing him into any wordly trouble whatever.
vv14-27
Adulteries often occasion murders, and one wickedness is sought to be covered by another. The beginnings of sin are much to be dreaded; for who knows where they will end? Can a real believer ever tread this path? Can such a person be indeed a child of God? Though grace be not lost in such an awful case, the assurance and consolation of it must be suspended. All David's life, spirituality, and comfort in religion, we may be sure were lost. No man in such a case can have evidence to be satisfied that he is a believer. The higher a man's confidence is, who has sunk in wickedness, the greater his presumption and hypocrisy. Let not any one who resembles David in nothing but his transgressions, bolster up his confidence with this example. Let him follow David in his humiliation, repentance, and his other eminent graces, before he thinks himself only a backslider, and not a hypocrite. Let no opposer of the truth say, These are the fruits of faith! No; they are the effects of corrupt nature. Let us all watch against the beginnings of self-indulgence, and keep at the utmost distance from all evil. But with the Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption. He will cast out no humble, penitent believer; nor will he suffer Satan to pluck his sheep out of his hand. Yet the Lord will recover his people, in such a way as will mark his abhorrence of their crimes, to hinder all who regard his word from abusing the encouragements of his mercy.
Key Words
תְּשׁוּבָה: a recurrence (of time or place); a reply (as returned)
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
עֵת: time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc.
מֶלֶךְ: a king
יָצָא: to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.
דָּוִד: David, the youngest son of Jesse
שָׁלַח: to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
יוֹאָב: Joab, the name of three Israelites
עֶבֶד: a servant
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
Cross References
2 Samuel 11Nathan's direct indictment of David's plot: slaying Uriah with the sword of the Ammonites.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Joab directly cites the historical precedent of Abimelech's ignominious death by a woman's millstone.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Confirms Bath-sheba (Bathshua) as the daughter of Eliam (Ammiel), and mother of Solomon.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Lists Uriah as one of David's elite 'mighty men', compounding the betrayal of his loyalty.
Supported by JFB
The definitive divine verdict on David, noting his life was perfect except in this matter.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallels Jezebel's treacherous use of letters under royal seal to orchestrate Naboth's judicial murder.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Saul's plot to let the Philistines kill David parallels David's plot against Uriah.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The conclusion of the siege of Rabbah, which is finally captured later in chapter 12.
Supported by JFB
The parallel account of Joab's siege of Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem.
Supported by JFB
Job's proactive covenant with his eyes contrasted with David's unguarded, wandering look.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Christ's exposition of the seventh commandment matches David's internal sin upon seeing Bath-sheba.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The ceremonial law requiring purification, confirming the timeline and certainty of Bath-sheba's pregnancy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David's desperate prayer for deliverance from 'bloodguiltiness' after murdering Uriah.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Uses identical Hebrew phrasing for a human action that 'displeased the Lord'.
Supported by Matthew Poole