David and Bathsheba

1 ^hiIn the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged ^jRabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on ^kthe roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this ^lBathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^mUriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (ⁿNow she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and ^owash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, ^p“The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and ^qthe servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and ^ras your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, ^sso that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with ^qthe servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning David ^twrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, ^uthat he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 ^vWho killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and ^wshe became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

The Light of the Gospel

1 Therefore, having ^xthis ministry ^yby the mercy of God,¹ we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced ^zdisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice² cunning or ^ato tamper with God’s word, but ^bby the open statement of the truth ^cwe would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even ^dif our gospel is veiled, ^eit is veiled to ^fthose who are perishing. 4 In their case ^gthe god of this world ^dhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^hthe light of ⁱthe gospel of the glory of Christ, ^jwho is the image of God. 5 For what ^kwe proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^lourselves as your servants³ for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, ^m“Let light shine out of darkness,” ⁿhas shone in our hearts to give ^othe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in ^pjars of clay, ^qto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are ^rafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but ^snot forsaken; ^tstruck down, but not destroyed; 10 ^ualways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^vso that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So ^wdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have ^xthe same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^y“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that ^zhe who raised the Lord Jesus ^awill raise us also with Jesus and ^bbring us with you into his presence. 15 For ^cit is all for your sake, so that as ^dgrace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^eto the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. ^fThough our outer self⁴ is wasting away, ^gour inner self ^his being renewed day by day. 17 For ⁱthis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 ^jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you¹ mean ^sby repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ^t‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 ^uAs I live, declares the Lord God, ^vthis proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: ^wthe soul who sins shall die.

5 “If a man is righteous and does ^xwhat is just and right— 6 if he ^ydoes not eat upon the mountains or ^zlift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, ^adoes not defile his neighbor’s wife ^bor approach ^ca woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 ^ddoes not oppress anyone, but ^erestores to the debtor his pledge, ^fcommits no robbery, ^ggives his bread to the hungry ^gand covers the naked with a garment, 8 ^hdoes not lend at interest ^hor take any profit,² withholds his hand from injustice, ⁱexecutes true justice between man and man, 9 ^jwalks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; ^khe shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, ^la shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), ^mwho even eats upon the mountains, ⁿdefiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, ^ocommits robbery, ^odoes not restore the pledge, ^plifts up his eyes to the idols, ^qcommits abomination, 13 ^rlends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; ^shis blood shall be upon himself.

14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, ^texacts no pledge, ^ucommits no robbery, ^vbut gives his bread to the hungry ^vand covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity,³ takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, ^wand walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; ^xhe shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ^ybehold, he shall die for his iniquity.

19 “Yet you say, ^z‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done ^awhat is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, ^bhe shall surely live. 20 ^cThe soul who sins shall die. ^dThe son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. ^eThe righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, ^fand the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

21 ^g“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does ^hwhat is just and right, ⁱhe shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 ^jNone of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 ^kHave I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 ^lBut when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? ^mNone of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for ⁿthe treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

25 ^o“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 ^lWhen a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, ^pwhen a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

30 “Therefore ^qI will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. ^rRepent and turn from all your transgressions, ^slest iniquity be your ruin.⁴ 31 ^tCast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and ^umake yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ^vWhy will you die, O house of Israel? 32 ^wFor I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; ^rso turn, and live.”

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to ^xJeduthun. A Psalm of David.

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, ^swhen he was in the wilderness of Judah.