David and Bathsheba

In the spring at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole [army] of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

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One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace And from the roof he saw a woman bathing— a very beautiful woman. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told,“This vvv is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam[fn] and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

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Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her.( Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home. 5 And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying,“I am pregnant.”

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At this, David sent orders to Joab:“Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent [him] to David.

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When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then [he] said to Uriah,“Go down to your house and wash your feet.”

So Uriah left the palace and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.

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And David was told“Uriah did not go home.”

“Haven’t you just arrived from a journey?” David asked Uriah.“Why didn’t you go home?”

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Uriah answered“The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents,[fn] and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and [as] your soul lives, I will not do such a thing

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“Stay here one more day David said to Uriah,“and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

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Then David invited [Uriah] to eat and drink with him, and he got [Uriah] drunk. And in the evening [Uriah] went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.

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