Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ When Saul heard Samuel’s words, he collapsed to the ground in terror and weakness, for he had not eaten all day and all night. ²¹ The woman came to him, and she saw that he was filled with fear.

His servants joined her in urging the king to eat, and at last he listened to them. He rose from the ground and sat on the bed. ²⁴ The woman took a fatted calf, slaughtered it, and prepared it. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread. ²⁵ When the food was ready, she served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate it before they departed that night.

29 The Philistines gathered for battle at Aphek, while the armies of Israel camped near the spring of Jezreel. ² The armies of the Philistines were marching forward by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were marching in the rear with King Achish.

¹¹ So the next morning, David and his men got up early and traveled south to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistine army went north to Jezreel.

30 When David and his men reached Ziklag three days later, they discovered that the Amalekites had raided the desert hill country. They had attacked Ziklag in David’s absence, burned it, ² and carried away the women and all the other inhabitants whom David had left behind. None of them were killed, but they were taken captive and carried back toward Amalek.

³ So David and his men arrived in the burned city and found their wives, daughters, and sons gone, taken captive by the Amalekite raiders. ⁴ And when they saw this, they cried out and wept aloud until they could weep no more. ⁵ David’s wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, were among those carried off.

⁶ David, too, was in anguish. Some of his men talked about stoning him because they were so bitter about their families being taken. But David took comfort in the Eternal One, his True God.

⁷ He called for the priest, Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, and instructed him to bring the priestly vest, which he did.

^9-10 So David set out with his 600 men. They came to the wadi Besor, a dry creek bed where he left behind 200 men who were too exhausted to continue the pursuit.

¹¹ In the open country beyond, some of his soldiers found an Egyptian. They took him to David, fed him, and gave him water. ¹² They gave him some fig cake and two clusters of raisins. After the man had eaten, he regained his strength. He had not had food or water for three days and nights.

¹⁶ He led David to where the Amalekites were spread out all over the place eating and drinking and dancing, because they had taken such great spoils in their raids against Philistia and Judah. ¹⁷ David fought against them from one twilight to the next, and he killed all of them except for 400 young men who escaped on camels.

¹⁸ So David recovered everything that had been taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing—from the smallest thing to the greatest treasure, none of the sons or daughters, no property of any kind. David brought everything home. ²⁰ David also captured their flocks and herds, which they were driving ahead of other livestock, and the people agreed this would be David’s share of the Amalekites’ property.

²¹ David and his people returned to the wadi Besor, where the 200 had remained behind, and those men went out to meet David and all those with him. As David approached, he greeted them. ²² But some of the wicked and greedy ones who had fought alongside David spoke out.

²⁵ In fact, he made this a law and an ordinance, and it remains so in Israel today.

²⁶ And after David returned to Ziklag, he gave part of the spoil he had taken to his friends who ruled over Judah, with the message, “This is a present for you taken from the enemies of the Eternal.”

²⁷ These gifts were sent to Bethel, to Ramoth in the desert south, to Jattir, ²⁸ to Aroer, to Siphmoth, to Eshtemoa, ²⁹ to Racal, to the towns of the Jerahmeelites, to the towns of the Kenites, ³⁰ to Hormah, to Bor-ashan, to Athach, ³¹ and to Hebron—all places where David and his men had lived and traveled.

31 Meanwhile the Philistine and Israelite armies had clashed. The men of Israel ran away, but many of them were killed on the heights of Gilboa. ² The Philistines even followed Saul and his sons and closed in on them; there they killed his sons, Jonathan (the beloved friend of David), Abinadab, and Malchi-shua.

³ The battle closed in around Saul, and he was shot with arrows and badly wounded.

But his armor-bearer was afraid and would not do it. Saul drew his own sword and fell upon it. ⁵ When the armor-bearer saw this, he also drew his sword and fell upon it and died. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together on the same day.

⁷ When the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and even those beyond the Jordan River, learned that the Israelite army had been defeated and heard that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The next day, as the Philistine army was looting the bodies of the fallen Israelites, they found Saul and his three sons dead on the heights of Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul’s head, stripped his body of his weapons, and sent messengers with the good news to the temples and to the people throughout Philistia. ¹⁰ They put Saul’s armor in the temple of Astarte and nailed his body to the wall at Beth-shan.

¹¹ But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard about this indignity done to Saul by the Philistines, ¹² the brave men among them rose up and traveled through the night. When they arrived, they took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall at Beth-shan. They returned to Jabesh and burned them there. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them in Jabesh beneath the tamarisk tree, like the one where Saul had held court in Gibeah, and for seven days they fasted and mourned.

1 After Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle with the Philistines, David returned from defeating the Amalekites, and for two days he rested in Ziklag. ² On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp in mourning, his clothes torn, dirt on his head. When he reached David, he fell to the ground facedown before him.

¹¹ When David heard these words, he tore his clothing in grief; and all the men with him did the same. ¹² They mourned and wept, and they fasted until evening in honor of Saul and Jonathan and the army of the Eternal One of Israel, because they were cut down by the sword of the enemy.

¹⁵ So David called for one of his soldiers to come forward and kill the Amalekite soldier, which he did.

¹⁷ Then David mourned the death of Saul and his son Jonathan with this song of grief, ¹⁸ the Song of the Bow, which he ordered taught to the people of Judah and recorded in the book of the Upright.^[a]

2 After David mourned, he asked the Eternal One a question.

The Eternal indicated that he should go.

² So David went to Hebron, a royal city, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal from Carmel. ³ David also brought along all his men and their households, and they settled in and around Hebron. ⁴ Then the people of Judah came and anointed David king over them. They told David how the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul with dignity, ⁵ so David sent messengers to them.

⁸ But it was not so simple. Abner, Ner’s son who had commanded Saul’s armies, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and brought him to Mahanaim; ⁹ and there Abner named Ish-bosheth king over Gilead and over the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. ¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was 40 years old when he began to rule Israel, and he was king for two years. But the people of Judah followed David, ¹¹ and he was king over them in Hebron for 7½ years.

¹² Abner, the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth (the son of Saul) traveled from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³ David’s general Joab, whose mother was David’s sister Zeruiah, and David’s servants went out to meet them at the pool of Gibeon. Abner’s forces were by one side of the pool, Joab’s forces by the other.

¹⁵ Twelve men came forward to represent the people of Benjamin and Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and twelve to represent David and his people. ¹⁶ They all caught their opponents by the head and thrust their swords into their opponents’ sides, so they all fell down together. That is why this place was called the Field of Adversaries, Helkath-hazzurim in Gibeon.

¹⁷ The battle that followed this contest was brutal that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

¹⁸ All three of Zeruiah’s sons were fighting for David: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a swift runner, fast as a gazelle, ¹⁹ and he chased after Abner intently. ²⁰ Abner looked behind him.

But Asahel would not stop in his pursuit.

²³ But Asahel refused to be diverted. Abner didn’t even use the point of his spear. He thrust with the butt of his spear, and the spear struck Asahel in his abdomen and passed all the way through him. He fell, and there he died. And all those who arrived on that spot stopped and just stood there staring in amazement.

²⁴ But Asahel’s brothers, Joab and Abishai, pursued Abner with their forces. As the sun was setting, they reached the hill of Ammah that is in front of Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ The people of Benjamin banded together to protect Abner, and they made their stand on top of a hill.

²⁸ Joab blew the trumpet to call off the attack against the men of Israel, and all pursuit and battle stopped. ²⁹ Abner and his men went on, traveling all night across the desert plain.^[c] They crossed the Jordan River, and by traveling all morning reached Mahanaim. ³⁰ Joab and his forces, meanwhile, came back together after pursuing Abner. They discovered that in addition to Asahel, 19 of David’s men were missing; ³¹ but David’s men had killed 360 of the men of Benjamin and the others who served Abner.

³² They brought Asahel’s body back and buried him in Bethlehem in his ancestral tomb. Joab and his men marched all night and arrived home in Hebron at dawn.

3 This was the beginning of a long war between the forces loyal to David and the forces loyal to Saul’s son Ish-bosheth. David’s forces continued to grow in strength, while the forces of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth grew ever weaker.

² While David was king at Hebron, he fathered these sons: the first was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel; ³ his second was Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; ⁴ his fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; his fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital; ⁵ his sixth was Ithream, whose mother was David’s wife Eglah. All of these sons were born at Hebron.

⁶ During the war between David and the house of Saul, Abner was carving out a place of power among those who supported Saul’s family. ⁷ Earlier Saul had a mistress named Rizpah, who was the daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth went to Abner and accused him.

⁸ This accusation of disloyalty made Abner very angry.

¹¹ Ish-bosheth didn’t dare to say anything else to Abner after this; he was afraid of him.

¹² Abner sent this message on his own behalf to David at Hebron:

¹⁴ At the same time, David sent Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, this message:

¹⁵ So Ish-bosheth sent for Michal and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel, the son of Laish. ¹⁶ Paltiel followed the party, weeping, all the way to Bahurim in Benjamin. Finally Abner ordered him to stop following them, and he returned home.

¹⁷ Abner sent a message to the leaders of Israel.

¹⁹ Abner also communicated directly with the people of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe, to enlist their support; and at last he went to Hebron to tell David that the people of Israel—all of them, including Benjamin—were ready to support him.

²⁰ Abner came with 20 of his men to meet with David at Hebron, and David held a great feast for them.

David dismissed Abner then and sent him away in peace. ²² But after he left, Joab and some of David’s warriors returned with the spoils of a raid. ²³ Joab and his forces arrived and heard that Abner, the son of Ner, had met with the king, and that he had gone his way in peace. ²⁴ Joab went to David.

²⁶ When Joab left David’s presence, he sent for messengers to find Abner. They caught up to him at the cistern of Sirah; and without David’s knowledge, ²⁷ Abner returned to Hebron. Then, under the pretext of speaking to Abner privately, Joab took him inside the gateway and stabbed him in the stomach. Joab had his revenge on Abner for killing his brother Asahel, and Abner died.

²⁸ When David heard this news, he wanted it understood:

³⁰ This was the curse King David pronounced because Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner in revenge for their brother Asahel, whom Abner killed at the battle at Gibeon. ³¹ Then David gave an order to Joab and his followers.

And King David himself walked in the procession behind the corpse. ³² They buried Abner at Hebron. At the graveside, David lifted his voice and wept for Abner; and the people wept with him.

³³ The king sang a song of lament for Abner.

And the people wept again over Abner’s grave.

³⁵ After the ceremony, the people came to David and tried to convince him to eat something that day, but he turned them away because fasting until evening was part of the mourning ritual.

³⁶ The people noticed that he honored Abner by fasting, and they approved—as they approved of everything their king did. ³⁷ So everyone believed it was not David’s intention, nor did he have any part in the murder of Abner, the son of Ner.

4 When Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, heard that his general Abner was dead, murdered in Hebron, he panicked, and so did all Israel. ² Now the two captains of Ish-bosheth’s raiding parties were Baanah and Rechab, the sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from the town of Beeroth (which was considered to belong to Benjamin since the time its original inhabitants tricked the Israelites into making a pact of friendship with them. ³ The people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as aliens).

⁴ Saul’s son Jonathan, David’s friend, had a son named Mephibosheth who was unable to use his feet. When he was only five, the news of his father and grandfather’s defeat came from Jezreel. In her rush to flee, his nurse grabbed him up, and Mephibosheth fell; he had been lame ever since.

⁵ Baanah and Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, hatched a plan. They set out, and they came to Ish-bosheth’s residence during the noonday heat as he was taking a nap. ^6-7 They crept inside the house as if to get some wheat. There they stabbed Ish-bosheth in the abdomen while he lay asleep on his bed, killing him. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah cut off Ish-bosheth’s head and escaped. They carried his head away and traveled all night across the desert plains.^[d]

⁸ At Hebron, they brought Ish-bosheth’s head before David.

¹² David commanded his young men, and they killed Baanah and Rechab. Then the young men cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies as an example beside the pool at Hebron. But Ish-bosheth’s head they took and buried in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

5 Then all the tribes that made up the people of Israel came to David at Hebron.

³ All the leaders of Israel came before the king there at Hebron. So King David made a covenant with the leaders there before the Eternal, and they anointed David king over all Israel. ⁴ David was 30 years old when he first became king, and he was king for 40 years; ⁵ he reigned in Hebron over Judah alone for 7½ years, and then he reigned over the united kingdom of Judah and Israel for 33 years.

⁶ At one point, David and his army marched to Jerusalem to fight the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites felt secure behind their walls and were sure David could not enter into the city. They jeered, “Even the blind and the lame could defend this city against you.” ⁷ Despite the taunts, David and his army managed to capture the fortress of Zion, which became the city of David.^[e]

(From this exchange came the saying, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the house.”)

⁹ Once David captured the fortress, he stayed there and named it the city of David. He built it up all around, carefully terracing the hillside from the Millo^[f] inward. ¹⁰ And David continued to grow in power and reputation because the Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies, was with him.

¹¹ King Hiram of Tyre sent diplomats to David with cedars and carpenters and masons to build David a palace.

¹² David realized then that the Eternal One had established him as king over Israel and that He was increasing David’s kingdom in power and majesty for the sake of His people Israel.

^13-14 After the move from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more women from Jerusalem, took more concubines, and fathered more sons and daughters: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

¹⁷ When David’s former allies, the Philistines, discovered that David, whom they still considered a vassal of Gath, was now king over a united Israel, they sent an army to battle him; but David heard they were coming and withdrew into the fortress.

¹⁸ The Philistines spread their forces in the valley of Rephaim southwest of Jerusalem.

²⁰ So David battled the Philistines at Baal-perazim and defeated them.

That is why the place was named Baal-perazim, meaning “the Lord who bursts through.”

²¹ The Philistines abandoned their idols on the field, and David and his forces carried them away.

²² Yet again the Philistines came up and prepared for battle in the valley of Rephaim. ²³ David asked the Eternal One what he should do.

²⁵ David did just as the Eternal One commanded and won a great victory. He struck down the fleeing Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer, just before the coastal plain.

6 Once again David gathered the elite soldiers of Israel, some 30,000, ² and they went down to Baale-judah to bring back the covenant chest of the True God, called by the Name: the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, who sits enthroned above the winged creatures who protect the chest.

^3-4 They carried the covenant chest of the True God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab on the hill where it had rested, and Abinadab’s sons Uzzah and Ahio directed the new cart, with Ahio walking in front of the chest. ⁵ David and all the Israelites were joyous before the Eternal; and they were accompanied by wooden lyres and harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

⁶ When they came alongside the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the covenant chest. ⁷ The Eternal burned with anger against Uzzah, and the True God struck Uzzah dead on the spot for daring to touch the covenant chest.

⁸ David was angry that the Eternal One had broken through to strike Uzzah, so the place was named Perez-uzzah, meaning “Breech against Uzzah,” to remember that act. ⁹ David was also frightened of the Eternal that day.

¹⁰ So he decided he did not want to take the chest of the Eternal into the city of David, and he left it there in the care of Obed-edom, a man from the Philistine city Gath. ¹¹ The covenant chest of the Eternal One remained there for three months; and in that time, the Eternal One blessed the household and farms of Obed-edom the Gittite.

¹² When news was taken to King David that the Eternal had blessed Obed-edom and all his household because of the covenant chest of God, the king went down and brought the chest from Obed-edom’s house up to the city of David, again accompanying it with rejoicing and ceremony. ¹³ When the people carrying the chest of the Eternal had gone six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf; ¹⁴ and he danced before the Eternal One with all his might, clad in a priestly vest.

^15-16 So David and the house of Israel carried the covenant chest of the Eternal One up to the city of David with shouts and the sounding of the trumpet. When Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Eternal without thought for how he looked, she hated him.

¹⁷ They carried the covenant chest of the Eternal One to its place inside the tent David had pitched to house it, and the king offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings to the Eternal. ¹⁸ When he had finished with the sacrifices and peace offerings, he spoke a priestly blessing over the people in the name of the Eternal One, the Commander of heavenly armies; and ¹⁹ he gave all of the Israelites—every man and woman—a loaf of bread, a date roll,^[g] and a raisin cake. Then they all returned to their homes.

²⁰ On David’s return, he wanted to bestow good favor on his household, but Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him.

²³ And to her dying day, Michal, the daughter of Saul, was humbled before God and did not bear a child. Therefore no descendant of Saul ever regained the throne of Israel.

7 Now when the king was settled in his house and the Eternal had given him rest from battling all his enemies, ² he spoke to the prophet Nathan.

⁴ But that same night, the Eternal spoke to Nathan.

¹⁷ Nathan did as He had told him and related this vision to David. ¹⁸ Then King David was strongly moved and went into the presence of the Eternal.

8 Sometime later, David won a great victory over the Philistines, gaining superiority over them at Metheg-ammah. ² He also defeated the army of Moab; and making the captured lie down, he determined that ⅔ of them would be put to death while ⅓ would be allowed to live. As a result, the Moabites became servants to David and paid tribute. ³ David also defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah in southern Aram, when Hadadezer went to restore territory all the way to the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He retained enough horses to drive 100 chariots and disabled the rest, cutting their leg tendons.

⁵ When the Arameans came from Damascus to fight alongside King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of their soldiers as well. ⁶ Then David set up outposts among the Arameans from Damascus, and they became servants of David and paid tribute. The Eternal helped David everywhere he went. ⁷ David brought the gold shields that had been carried by Hadadezer’s men back to Jerusalem; ⁸ and he plundered a vast quantity of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns, Betah and Berothai.

⁹ When King Toi of Hamath (in southern Aram) heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s army, ¹⁰ he sent his son Joram to greet King David and to congratulate him on his victories because Toi had also defeated Hadadezer. Joram brought as gifts items of silver, gold, and bronze; ¹¹ David dedicated these to the Eternal, as he had all the silver and gold he had received from those nations he defeated: ¹² Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, including the spoil from Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ David’s exploits improved his reputation. After his return, he went to war with the Edomites,^[i] killing 18,000 in the valley of Salt. ¹⁴ David set up outposts throughout the land of Edom. All the Edomites became servants of David, and the Eternal One helped David wherever he went.

¹⁵ So David was king over a united Israel, ruling justly and fairly. ¹⁶ Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was his general; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was his recorder; ¹⁷ Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, served as priests; Seraiah was his royal secretary; ¹⁸ Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and the Pelethites, foreign mercenaries loyal to David; and some of David’s sons served as advisors in David’s kingdom.

² One servant from Saul’s household, Ziba, was still alive, and they brought him to King David.

^5-6 David sent for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth and had him brought to Jerusalem from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. When he arrived, Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul, laid facedown on the floor and honored the king.

⁸ Mephibosheth again prostrated himself before the king.

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant.

Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.

From then on, Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table as though he were one of David’s own sons. ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son, Mica; and all who lived in the house of Ziba became Mephibosheth’s servants and worked for him. ¹³ Mephibosheth remained in Jerusalem, where he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame and could not walk on either foot.

10 After a while, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died; and his son Hanun became the new king. Remember, Nahash and Saul were enemies, but Nahash had helped David.

So David sent messengers to Ammon with a message of sympathy about Nahash’s death. When David’s emissaries arrived, ³ the princes of the Ammonites spoke to Hanun their lord.

⁴ So Hanun had David’s messengers seized. He mocked the men, shaving off half their beards, cutting off their garments at their hips, and then ordering them home.

⁵ When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to intercept them because they had been publicly humiliated.

⁶ When the Ammonites realized they had earned David’s ridicule, they sent for and hired Arameans: 20,000 foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 fighting men from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 soldiers from Tob.

⁷ When David heard the Ammonites were preparing for war, he sent Joab and all his fighting men. ⁸ The Ammonites arrayed themselves in front of the gates, but their mercenaries (the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah) took up positions out in the open country.

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle lines had been drawn both in front of and behind him, he chose some of Israel’s best fighting men and set them against the Arameans, ¹⁰ and he put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest and set them against the Ammonites.

¹³ So Joab and his soldiers moved against the Arameans, and the mercenaries fled from him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that their hired soldiers, the Arameans, were running away, they also fled from Abishai and his forces and entered into the safety of their city. Then Joab and the armies of Israel stopped fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ But when the Arameans saw they had been routed by Israel, they came back together to pool all their resources. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they gathered at Helam under Shobach, the general of all Hadadezer’s army. ¹⁷ When David got this news, he gathered his army, crossed over the Jordan River, and went to Helam. The Arameans came out and arranged themselves to fight David ¹⁸ and ran from Israel in defeat: David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen,^[j] and he mortally wounded Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.

¹⁹ When all the rulers who were subject to Hadadezer learned of Israel’s victories, they gave up and made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid and would no longer help the Ammonites against David.

11 In the springtime of the year, the season when most kings took their soldiers out to fight, David stayed in Jerusalem and sent Joab out as general in charge of David’s men and the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and put the city of Rabbah under siege.

² Early one evening, David rose from his bed and was strolling on the palace roof when he saw a woman bathing on a roof below his. She was very beautiful. ³ David sent someone to find out who the woman was, and the answer came back that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was one of David’s officers who had gone to war with the rest of David’s troops.

^4-5 David couldn’t get her off his mind, so he sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him. She came, and they had sexual relations. Soon after she returned home, Bathsheba realized she was pregnant, and she sent this news to David. Since their encounter occurred just after the purifying bath after her period, her husband Uriah could not have been the father. ⁶ So David sent a message to his general Joab.

Joab sent Uriah back to David. ⁷ There he was taken in front of the king; and David asked how Joab was doing, how the army was getting along, and how the campaign was progressing. ⁸ When they finished discussing the news from the front, David suggested that Uriah go to his own house to clean up, relax, and visit his wife.

David sent a gift after him when he left, ⁹ but Uriah did not go down to his own house. Instead he spent the night at the entrance of the palace with all the king’s servants.

Uriah remained in Jerusalem that whole day and the next day. ¹³ David invited him to eat and drink in the king’s royal company, and David got him drunk. After the party, Uriah fell asleep on a bed with the servants of the king, and again he did not return to his home.

¹⁴ So the next morning, realizing Uriah would not go home to be with Bathsheba, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it back to the front with Uriah.

¹⁶ After he received this message, Joab laid out his attack plans and assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy had put strong warriors. ¹⁷ When the warriors of the city came out to fight against Joab’s forces, some of David’s servants were killed, and Uriah the Hittite was one of them.

¹⁸ Joab sent a messenger to David with news of the battle.

²² So the messenger went and told David everything Joab had instructed him to say. But he did not wait for the king’s reaction before telling him Uriah had died.

²⁶ When Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, heard the news of his death, she went into mourning for seven days. ²⁷ When her appointed time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his household. He made her his wife, and in time she bore him a son.

But the Eternal One was displeased with what David had done.

12 The Eternal One sent the prophet Nathan to visit David. Nathan came to him and told him a story.

Nathan stood back, waiting for the king’s verdict. ⁵ David grew very angry at the rich man. It was his royal duty to protect the poor and establish justice.