Study Desk

^(C1)Now it happened afterward that ^(C2)the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.

Then David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun the son of ^(C1)Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent ^(F1)some of his servants to console him about his father. But when David's servants came to the land of the Ammonites,

the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, "^(F1)Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants ^(F2)to console you? ^(C1)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?"

So Hanun took David's servants and ^(C1)shaved off half of their beards, and ^(C2)cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return."

Now when the sons of Ammon saw that ^(C1)they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and ^(C2)hired the Arameans of ^(C3)Beth-rehob and the ^(C4)Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of ^(C5)Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men.

When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors.

And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle ^(C1)at the entrance of the ^(F1)city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of ^(C2)Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.

Now when Joab saw that ^(F1)the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans.

But the remainder of the people he placed ^(F1)under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon.

And he said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.

"^(C1)Be strong, and let's show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and ^(C2)may the LORD do what is good in His sight."

So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and ^(C1)they fled from him.

When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. ^(C1)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

When the Arameans saw that they had been ^(F1)defeated by Israel, they assembled together.

^(C1)And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and ^(C2)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ^(F1)led them.

Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him.

But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed ^(C1)seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there.

When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been ^(F1)defeated by Israel, ^(C1)they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

^(C1)Then it happened ^(F1)(C2)in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they brought destruction on the sons of Ammon and ^(C3)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

Now at evening time David got up from his bed and walked around on ^(C1)the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.

So David sent servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not ^(C1)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^(C2)Uriah the Hittite?"

Then David sent messengers and ^(F1)had her brought, and when she came to him, ^(C1)he slept with her; ^(C2)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, "^(C1)I am pregnant."

Then David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

When Uriah came to him, ^(C1)David asked about Joab's well-being and ^(F1)that of the people, and the condition of the war.

Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and ^(C1)wash your feet." So Uriah left the king's house, and a gift from the king ^(F1)was sent after him.

But Uriah slept ^(C1)at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

Now when they informed David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?"

And Uriah said to David, "^(C1)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in ^(F1)temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and ^(C2)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."

Then David said to Uriah, "^(C1)Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the day after.

Now David summoned ^(F1)Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he ^(C1)made ^(F1)Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed ^(C2)with his lord's servants, and he still did not go down to his house.

So in the morning David ^(C1)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

^(C1)He had written in the letter ^(F1)the following: "^(F2)Station Uriah on the front line of the ^(F3)fiercest battle and pull back from him, ^(C2)so that he may be struck and killed."

So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he ^(F1)stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men.

And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David's servants fell; and ^(C1)Uriah the Hittite also died.

Then Joab sent a messenger and reported to David all the events of the war.

He ordered the messenger, saying, "When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king,

then it shall be that if the king's wrath rises and he says to you, 'Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

'Who ^(C1)struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you move against the wall?'—then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

So the messenger departed and came and reported to David everything that Joab had sent him to tell.

The messenger said to David, "The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we ^(F1)pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate.

"Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king's servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died."

Then David said to the messenger, "This is what you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing ^(F1)displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; ^(F2)fight with determination against the city and overthrow it'; and thereby encourage him."

Now when Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, ^(C1)she mourned for her husband.

When the time of mourning was over, David sent servants and ^(F1)had her brought to his house and ^(C1)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But ^(C2)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.

Then the LORD sent ^(C1)Nathan to David. And he came to him and ^(F1)said, "There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor.

-"The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds.

-"But the poor man had nothing at all except ^(C1)one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nurtured; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat ^(F1)scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie ^(F2)in his lap, And was like a daughter to him.

-"Now a visitor came to the wealthy man, And he could not bring himself to take any animal from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the traveler who had come to him; So he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this certainly ^(F1)(C1)deserves to die!

"So he must make restitution for the lamb ^(C1)four times over, since he did this thing and ^(F1)had no compassion."

Nathan then said to David, "^(C1)You yourself are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C2)It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul.

'I also gave you ^(C1)your master's house and put your master's wives ^(F1)into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you ^(F2)many more things like these!

'Why ^(C1)have you despised the word of the LORD, by doing evil in His sight? ^(C2)You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you ^(C3)have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

'Now then, ^(C1)the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

"This is what the LORD says: 'Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; ^(C1)I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in ^(F1)broad daylight.

'Indeed, ^(C1)you did it secretly, but ^(C2)I will do this thing before all Israel, and ^(F1)in open daylight.'"

Then David said to Nathan, "^(C1)I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has ^(C2)allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die.

"However, since by this deed you have ^(C1)shown utter disrespect for the ^(F1)LORD, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die."

Then Nathan went to his house. Loss of a Child Later the LORD struck the child that Uriah's ^(F1)widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.

Footnotes:  

Cross References:  

David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David ^(C1)fasted and went and ^(C2)lay all night on the ground.

^(C1)The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.

Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to ^(F1)us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?"

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead."

So David got up from the ground, ^(C1)washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and ^(C2)worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was ^(F1)alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food."

And he said, "While the child was still alive, ^(C1)I fasted and wept; for I said, '^(C2)Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, and the child may live.'

"But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? ^(C1)I am going to him, but ^(C2)he will not return to me."

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and ^(F1)(C1)he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him,

and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him ^(F1)Jedidiah for the LORD'S sake.

^(C1)Now Joab fought against ^(C2)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city.

Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters.

"Now then, gather the rest of the people and camp opposite the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me."

So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.

Then ^(C1)he took the crown of ^(F1)their king from his head; and its weight was a ^(F2)talent of gold, and it had a precious stone; and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great amounts.

He also brought out the people who were in it, and ^(C1)put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made ^(F1)others ^(F2)serve at the brick ^(F3)works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.