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.
Nathan Rebukes David
1 And the Lord sent xNathan to David. He came to him and said to him, y“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,1 and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, z“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb afourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, b‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 cWhy have you despised the word of the Lord, dto do what is evil in his sight? eYou have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and fhave taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, gbut I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 hDavid said to Nathan, i“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, j“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly kscorned the Lord,2 the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
David’s Child Dies
And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David lfasted and went in mand lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth nand washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord oand worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, p‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, qbut he will not return to me.”
Solomon’s Birth
24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and rshe bore a son, and he called his name sSolomon. And the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,3 because of the Lord.
Rabbah Is Captured
26 tNow Joab ufought against vRabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent4 of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at5 the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
The Crucifixion
26 iAnd as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were jmourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, kthe days are coming when they will say, l‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 mThen they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For nif they do these things when othe wood is green, what will happen owhen it is dry?”
32 pTwo others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 qAnd when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, pone on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, rforgive them, sfor they know not what they do.”1 And they cast lots tto divide his garments. 35 And uthe people stood by, watching, vbut wthe rulers xscoffed at him, saying, y“He saved others; zlet him save himself, aif he is bthe Christ of God, chis Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and doffering him sour wine 37 and saying, e“If you are fthe King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 gThere was also an inscription over him,2 “This is fthe King of the Jews.”
39 hOne of the criminals who were hanged irailed at him,3 saying, “Are you not jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me kwhen you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in lparadise.”
The Death of Jesus
44 mIt was now about the sixth hour,4 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,5 45 while the sun’s light failed. And nthe curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, ocalling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, pinto your hands I qcommit my spirit!” And having said this rhe breathed his last. 47 Now swhen the centurion saw what had taken place, the praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ubeating their breasts. 49 And all vhis acquaintances and wthe women who had followed him from Galilee xstood at a distance watching these things.
Jesus Is Buried
50 yNow there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he zwas looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and alaid him in a tomb cut in stone, bwhere no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of cPreparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.6 55 dThe women ewho had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and fprepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested gaccording to the commandment.
