Study Desk

Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he sent them out to fight the Ammonites.

In the spring, when the kings normally went out to war, David sent out Joab, his servants, and all the Israelites. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. While he was on the roof, he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful.

So David sent his servants to find out who she was. A servant answered, "That woman is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite."

Uriah said to him, "The Ark and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are staying in tents. My master Joab and his officers are camping out in the fields. It isn't right for me to go home to eat and drink and have sexual relations with my wife!"

After she finished her time of sadness, David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David's wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord did not like what David had done.

But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb he had bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup and slept in his arms. The lamb was like a daughter to him.

"Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to feed the traveler, but he didn't want to take one of his own sheep or cattle. Instead, he took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor."

I gave you his kingdom and his wives. And I made you king of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you even more.

So why did you ignore the Lord 's command? Why did you do what he says is wrong? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your wife!

David prayed to God for the baby. David fasted and went into his house and stayed there, lying on the ground all night.

When David saw his servants whispering, he knew that the baby was dead. So he asked them, "Is the baby dead?" They answered, "Yes, he is dead."

Then David got up from the floor, washed himself, put lotions on, and changed his clothes. Then he went into the Lord 's house to worship. After that, he went home and asked for something to eat. His servants gave him some food, and he ate.

Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife. He slept with her and had sexual relations with her. She became pregnant again and had another son, whom David named Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon.

David took the crown off their king's head and had it placed on his own head. That gold crown weighed about seventy-five pounds, and it had valuable gems in it. And David took many valuable things from the city.

He also brought out the people of the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. He also made them build with bricks. David did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem.

Next she took the pan and served him, but he refused to eat. He said to his servants, "All of you, leave me alone!" So they all left him alone.

He called his young servant back in and said, "Get this woman out of here and away from me! Lock the door after her."

So his servant led her out of the room and bolted the door after her. Tamar was wearing a special robe with long sleeves, because the king's virgin daughters wore this kind of robe.

Absalom did not say a word, good or bad, to Amnon. But he hated Amnon for disgracing his sister Tamar.