2 Samuel 11 - Easy To Read Version

¹ In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent Joab, his officers, and all of the Israelites out to destroy the Ammonites. Joab’s army also attacked {their capital city} Rabbah.

² In the evening, he got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of the king’s house. While David was on the roof, he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.

³ So David sent for his officers and asked them who the woman was. An officer answered, “That woman is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

⁴ David sent messengers to go and bring Bathsheba to him. When she came to David, he had sexual relations with her. She washed herself, and then went back to her house.

⁵ But Bathsheba became pregnant. She sent word to David. She told him, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ David sent a message to Joab. “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.”

⁷ Uriah came to David. David talked with Uriah. David asked Uriah how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was.

⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go home and rest. [63]

⁹ But Uriah did not go home. Uriah slept outside the door of the king’s house. He slept there like all the king’s servants did.

¹⁰ The servants told David, “Uriah did not go home.”

¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The Holy Box [64] and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are staying in tents. My lord Joab, and my lord’s (King David’s) officers are camping out in the field. So it is not right for me to go home to drink, and sleep with my wife.”

¹² David said to Uriah, “Stay here today. Tomorrow I will send you back {to the battle}.”

¹³ Then David called Uriah {to come and see him}. Uriah ate and drank with David. David made Uriah drunk. But Uriah still did not go home. That evening, Uriah went to sleep with the king’s servants {outside the king’s door}.

¹⁴ The next morning, David wrote a letter to Joab. David made Uriah carry the letter.

¹⁵ In the letter, David wrote: “Put Uriah on the front lines where the fighting is the hardest. Then leave him there alone, and let him be killed in battle.”

¹⁶ Joab watched the city and saw where the bravest Ammonites were. He chose Uriah to go to that place.

¹⁷ The men of the city (Rabbah) came out to fight against Joab. Some of David’s men were killed. Uriah the Hittite was one of those men.

¹⁸ Then Joab sent a report to David about what happened in the battle.

¹⁹ Joab told the messenger to tell King David what had happened in the battle.

²⁰ “Maybe the king will become upset. Maybe the king will ask, ‘Why did Joab’s army go that close the city to fight? Surely he knows that there are men on the city walls who can shoot arrows down at his men?

²¹ Surely he remembers that a woman killed Abimelech son of Jerub Besheth? It was at Thebez. The woman was on the city wall and threw the top part of a grinding stone down on Abimelech. So why did he go that close to the wall?’ {If King David says something like that}, then you must tell him this message: ‘Your officer Uriah the Hittite also died.’”

²² The messenger went in and told David everything Joab told him to say.

²³ The messenger told David, “The men {of Ammon} attacked us in the field. We fought them and chased them all the way to the city gate.

²⁴ Then the men on the city wall shot arrows at your officers. Some of your officers were killed. Your officer Uriah the Hittite also died.”

²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Give this message to Joab: ‘Don’t be too upset about this. A sword can kill one person as well as the next. Make a stronger attack against Rabbah and you will win.’ Encourage Joab with these words.”

²⁶ Bathsheba heard that her husband Uriah was dead. Then she cried for her husband.

²⁷ After she had finished her time of sadness, David sent servants to take her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to a son for David. But the Lord did not like the bad thing David had done.