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[To the chiefe Musician. A Psalme of Dauid, when Nathan the Prophet came vnto him, after hee had gone in to Bath-sheba.] Haue mercie vpon mee, O God, according to thy louing kindnesse: according vnto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash mee throughly from mine iniquitie, and clense me from my sinne.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sinne is euer before mee.

Against thee, thee onely haue I sinned, and done this euill in thy sight: that thou mightest bee iustified when thou speakest, and be cleare when thou iudgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquitie: and in sinne did my mother conceiue me.

Behold, thou desirest trueth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisedome.

Purge me with hyssope, and I shalbe cleane: wash me, and I shall be whiter then snow.

Make mee to heare ioy and gladnesse: that the bones which thou hast broken, may reioyce.

Hide thy face from my sinnes; and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in mee a cleane heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within mee.

Cast mee not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

Restore vnto me the ioy of thy saluation: and vphold mee with thy free Spirit.

Then will I teach transgressours thy wayes, and sinners shalbe conuerted vnto thee.

Deliuer mee from blood-guiltinesse, O God, thou God of my saluation: and my tongue shall sing alowd of thy righteousnesse.

O Lord open thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew foorth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice: else would I giue it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Doe good in thy good pleasure vnto Sion: build thou the walles of Ierusalem.

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousnesse, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullockes vpon thine altar.

And it came to passe, that after the yeere was expired, at the time when kings goe foorth to battell, that Dauid sent Ioab and his seruants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah: but Dauid taried still at Ierusalem.

And it came to passe in an euening tide, that Dauid arose from off his bed, and walked vpon the roofe of the kings house: and from the roofe he saw a woman washing her selfe; and the woman was very beautifull to looke vpon.

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

And Dauid sent messengers, and tooke her, and shee came in vnto him, and he lay with her, ( for she was purified from her vncleannesse) and shee returned vnto her house.

And the woman conceiued, and sent and tolde Dauid, and said, I am with childe.

And Dauid sent to Ioab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Ioab sent Uriah to Dauid.

And when Uriah was come vnto him, Dauid demanded of him how Ioab did, and how the people did, and how the warre prospered.

And Dauid said to Uriah, Goe downe to thy house, and wash thy feete. And Uriah departed out of the Kings house, and there followed him a messe of meat from the king.

But Uriah slept at the doore of the kings house, with all the seruants of his lord, and went not downe to his house.

And when they had tolde Dauid, saying, Uriah went not downe vnto his house, Dauid said vnto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy iourney? why then diddest thou not goe downe vnto thine house?

And Uriah said vnto Dauid, The Arke, and Israel, and Iudah abide in tents, and my lord Ioab, and the seruants of my lord are encamped in the open fields; shall I then goe into mine house, to eate and to drinke, and to lie with my wife? As thou liuest, and as thy soule liueth, I will not doe this thing.

And Dauid said to Uriah, Tary here to day also, and to morow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Ierusalem that day, and the morrow.

And when Dauid had called him, hee did eate and drinke before him, and he made him drunke: and at euen hee went out to lie on his bed with the seruants of his lord, but went not downe to his house.

And it came to passe in the morning, that Dauid wrote a letter to Ioab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set yee Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battel, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

And it came to passe when Ioab obserued the citie, that he assigned Uriah vnto a place where hee knewe that valiant men were.

And the men of the city went out, and fought with Ioab: and there fell some of the people of the seruants of Dauid, and Uriah the Hittite died also.

Then Ioab sent, and tolde Dauid all the things concerning the warre:

And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an ende of telling the matters of the warre vnto the King;

And if so be that the kings wrath arise, and hee say vnto thee, Wherefore approched ye so nigh vnto the city when yee did fight? Knew yee not that they would shoot from the wall?

Who smote Abimelech the sonne of Ierubesheth? Did not a woman cast a piece of a milstone vpon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? Then say thou, Thy seruant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

So the messenger went, and came and shewed Dauid all that Ioab had sent him for.

And the messenger said vnto Dauid, Surely the men preuailed against vs, and came out vnto vs into the field, and we were vpon them euen vnto the entring of the gate.

And the shooters shot from off the wall vpon thy seruants, and some of the Kings seruants be dead, and thy seruant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

Then Dauid said vnto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say vnto Ioab, Let not this thing displease thee: for the sword deuoureth one as well as another: Make thy battell more strong against the citie, and ouerthrow it; and encourage thou him.

And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

And when the mourning was past, Dauid sent, and fet her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a sonne: but the thing that Dauid had done, displeased the Lord.

And the Lord sent Nathan vnto Dauid: and he came vnto him, and said vnto him, There were two men in one citie; the one rich, and the other poore.

The rich man had exceeding many flockes and herds.

But the poore man had nothing saue one litle ewe lambe, which he had bought and nourished vp: and it grew vp together with him, and with his children, it did eate of his owne meate, and dranke of his owne cup, and lay in his bosome, and was vnto him as a daughter.

And there came a traueller vnto the rich man, and he spared to take of his owne flocke, and of his owne herd, to dresse for the wayfaring man that was come vnto him, but tooke the poore mans lambe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

And Dauids anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely die.

And he shall restore the Lambe fourefold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pittie.

And Nathan said to Dauid, Thou art the man: thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king ouer Israel, and I deliuered thee out of the hand of Saul,

And I gaue thee thy Masters house, and thy Masters wiues into thy bosome, and gaue thee the house of Israel and of Iudah, and if that had bene too litle, I would moreouer haue giuen vnto thee such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandement of the Lord, to doe euill in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slaine him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

Now therefore the sword shall neuer depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite, to be thy wife.

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise vp euill against thee out of thine owne house, and I will take thy wiues before thine eyes, and giue them vnto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wiues in the sight of this Sunne.

For thou diddest it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the Sunne.

And Dauid saide vnto Nathan, I haue sinned against the Lord. And Nathan saide vnto Dauid, The Lord also hath put away thy sinne, thou shalt not die.

Howbeit, because by this deede thou hast giuen great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the childe also that is borne vnto thee, shall surely die.

And Nathan departed vnto his house: and the Lord strake the childe that Uriahs wife bare vnto Dauid, and it was very sicke.

Dauid therfore besought God for the childe, and Dauid fasted, and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.

And the Elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him vp from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eate bread with them.

And it came to passe on the seuenth day, that the childe died: and the seruants of Dauid feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they saide, Behold, while the childe was yet aliue, we spake vnto him, and he would not hearken vnto our voice: how will he then vexe himselfe, if we tell him that the childe is dead?

But when Dauid saw that his seruants whispered, Dauid perceiued that the childe was dead: therefore Dauid said vnto his seruants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead.

Then Dauid arose from the earth and washed, and anointed himselfe, and changed his apparell, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then hee came to his owne house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eate.

Then said his seruants vnto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weepe for the childe, while it was aliue, but when the childe was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

And he said, While the child was yet aliue, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell, whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may liue?

But now hee is dead, Wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him backe againe? I shall goe to him, but he shall not returne to me.

And Dauid comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in vnto her, and lay with her: and she bare a sonne, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loued him.

And hee sent by the hand of Nathan the Prophet, and hee called his name Iedidiah, because of the Lord.