Study Desk

Be favorable unto me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, And, in the multitude of thy compassions, blot out my transgressions;

Thoroughly wash me from mine iniquity, And, from my sin, make me pure;

For, my transgressions, do, I, acknowledge, And, my sin, is before me continually:

Against thee - against thee alone, have I sinned, And, wickedness - in thine eyes, have I done, - That thou mayest, Be justified when thou speakest, - Be clear when thou judgest.

Lo! in iniquity, was I brought forth, And, in sin, did my mother conceive me.

Lo! faithfulness, hast thou desired in the inward parts, Yea, in the hidden part, wilt thou cause me to know, wisdom.

Wilt thou cleanse me from sin with hyssop, That I may be pure? Wilt thou wash me, That I may be whiter, than snow?

Wilt thou cause me to hear joy and gladness? The bones thou hast crushed would exult.

Hide thy face from my sins, - And, all mine iniquities, blot out;

A pure heart, create for me, O God, And, a steadfast spirit, renew within me.

Do not cast me away from thy presence, And, thy Holy Spirit, do not take from me:

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, And, with a willing spirit, wilt thou uphold me: -

I would teach transgressors thy ways, And, sinners, unto thee, should return.

Rescue me from shed-blood, O God, the God of my salvation, My tongue should shout thy righteousness;

O My Lord! my lips, wilt thou open, And, my mouth, shall declare thy praise.

For thou wilt not desire sacrifice - that I should give it, Ascending-offering, will not please:

The sacrifices of God, are a spirit that is broken, - A heart - broken and crushed, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Do good, in thy good-pleasure, unto Zion, Wilt thou build the walls of Jerusalem!

Then, shalt thou desire the sacrifices of righteousness, Ascending-sacrifice and whole burnt-offering, Then, shall ascend upon thine altar, young bulls.

And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time of the going forth of kings, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon, and laid siege to Rabbah, - but, David, was remaining in Jerusalem.

And it came to pass that, at eventide, David arose from his couch, and walked to and fro on the roof of the king's house, when, from the roof, he saw a woman bathing herself, - the woman being exceeding beautiful to look upon.

And David sent and enquired after the woman, - and one said - Is not, this, Bath-sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?

And David sent messengers, and fetched her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, she having purified herself from her uncleanness, - and she returned unto her own house.

And the woman, having conceived, sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

Then sent David unto Joab, Send unto me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent Uriah unto David.

And, when Uriah had come in unto him, David asked - how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

Then said David unto Uriah, Go down unto thy house, and bathe thy feet. And, when Uriah went out of the house of the king, there followed him, a present from the king.

But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, - and went not down unto his own house.

And it was told David, saying, Uriah went not down, unto his own house. So David said unto Uriah - Was it not, from a journey, thou didst come? why, then, hast thou not been down unto thine own house?

And Uriah said unto David - The ark, and Israel and Judah, are dwelling in huts and, my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field, are encamped, Was, I, then, to enter my own house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By thy life, yea by the life of thy soul, I could not do this thing.

Then said David unto Uriah - Abide here to-day also, and, to-morrow, will I let thee go. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

And David called him, and he did eat before him, and drank, and he made him drunk, - and he went forth in the evening to lie down on his bed, with the servants of his lord, but, unto his own house, went he not down.

And so it was, in the morning, that David wrote a letter unto Joab, - and sent it by the hand of Uriah;

and he wrote in the letter, saying, - Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he be smitten and die.

So it came to pass, when Joab was laying siege to the city, that he put Uriah in the place where he knew that the men of valour, were.

And forth sallied the men of the city, and fought with Joab, and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David, - then died also, Uriah the Hittite.

So Joab sent and told David all the news of the battle;

and he charged the messenger saying, - When thou hast ended all the news of the battle, in speaking unto the king,

then shall it be, if the king's anger arise, and he say unto thee, Why came ye near unto the city, to fight? Knew ye not, that they would shoot from off the wall?

Who smote Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not, a woman, cast on him an upper millstone from off the wall, that he died, in Thebez? Wherefore came ye near unto the wall? Then shalt thou say - Moreover, thy servant, Uriah the Hittite, died.

And the messenger went his way, - and came in, and told David, all that Joab had sent him to tell .

And the messenger said unto David, The men were too strong for us, and sallied forth against us, in the field, - so we were drawn against them as far as the opening of the gate.

Then did the archers shoot upon thy servants, from off the wall, and there died some of the servants of the king, - moreover also, thy servant, Uriah the Hittite, died.

Then said David unto the messenger - Thus, shalt thou say unto Joab, - Let not this thing be grievous in thine eyes, for, now this one, and then that one, doth the sword devour, - make hot thy battle against the city, and overthrow it; Thus embolden thou him.

And, when Uriah's wife heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made loud lamentation over her lord.

And, when the time of mourning had passed, David sent and received her into his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing which David had done was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh.

So then Yahweh sent Nathan the prophet unto David, - who therefore came unto him and said to him - Two men, there were in a certain city, the one, rich, and, the other, poor.

The, rich, man had flocks and herds exceeding many;

whereas the, poor, man had, nothing, - save one little lamb, which he had made his own, and sustained, and it had grown up with him and with his children, all together, - of his own morsel, used it to eat, and, out of his own cup, used it to drink, and, in his own bosom, used it to lie, and it was to him, as a daughter.

Now there came a traveller to the rich man, but he thought it a pity to take of his own flock, or his own herd, to make ready for the wayfarer who had come to him, - so he took the lamb of his poor neighbour, and made ready for the man who had come to him.

Then was kindled the anger of David against the man, fiercely, - and he said unto Nathan, By the life of Yahweh, doomed to death, is the man that hath done this;

and, the lamb, shall he pay back sevenfold, - because he did this thing, and, for that he had no pity.

Then said Nathan unto David: Thou, art the man! Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel - I, anointed thee to be king over Israel, and, I, delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

and gave unto thee the household of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and gave unto thee the house of Israel and Judah. And, if this had been too little, I could have further given thee more and more of such things.

Wherefore, hast thou despised the word of Yahweh, by doing that which is wicked in mine eyes? Uriah the Hittite, hast thou smitten with the sword, and, his wife, hast thou taken to thyself to wife, yea, him, hast thou slain with the sword of the sons of Ammon!

Now, therefore, the sword shall not depart from thy house, unto age-abiding times, - because thou hast despised me, and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Thus, saith Yahweh, - Behold me! raising up over thee calamity out of thine own household, and I will take thy wives, before thine eyes, and give unto thy neighbour, and he will lie with thy wives, in the eyes of this sun.

For, thou, didst it, in secret, - but, I, will do this thing, before all Israel, and before the sun.

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahweh. Then said Nathan unto David, - Yahweh also, hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die!

Nevertheless, because thou hast greatly blasphemed Yahweh, by this thing, the very son that is born to thee, shall, die.

And Nathan departed unto his own house, - and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne unto David, and it fell sick.

David therefore earnestly sought God in behalf of the boy, - and David kept a fast, and used to go in and pass the night, and lie upon the ground.

And the elders of his house stood up over him, to raise him from the ground, - but he would not, neither would he eat food with them.

And it came to pass, on the seventh day, that the child died, - but the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for said they - Lo! while the child was living, we spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice, how then can we say unto him, The child is dead, and so he do himself harm?

But, when David saw that his servants were whispering among themselves, then understood David that the child was dead, - and David said unto his servants - Is the child, dead? And they answered - Dead!

Then David arose from the ground, and bathed and anointed, and changed his apparel, and, entering into the house of Yahweh, bowed himself down, - then came he into his own house, and asked, and they set before him food, and he did eat.

Then said his servants unto him, What is this thing that thou hast done? For the child's sake, while living, thou didst fast and weep, but, as soon as the child was dead, thou didst arise and eat food.

And he said, - While yet the child lived, I fasted, and wept, - for I said - Who knoweth whether Yahweh may not grant me favour, and the child live?

But, now, that he is dead, wherefore should I go on fasting? can I bring him back again? I am going unto him, but, he, will not come back unto me.

And David consoled Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her, - and she bare a son, and called his name, Solomon, and Yahweh loved him.

And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jedidiah, for Yahweh's sake.