1And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.11.1 after…: Heb. at the return of the year, or, in the spring
2¶ And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?11.3 Bath-sheba: or, Bath-shuah11.3 Eliam: or Ammiel 4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.11.4 for she…: or, and when she had purified herself, etc, she returned 5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6¶ And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.11.7 how Joab…: Heb. of the peace of, etc 8And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.11.8 followed…: Heb. went out after him 9But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 10And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? 11And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. 12And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.11.15 hottest: Heb. strong11.15 from him: Heb. from after him 16And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. 17And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18¶ Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, 20And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? 21Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.11.21 Jerubbesheth: also called, Jerubbaal
22¶ So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate. 24And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 25Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.11.25 displease…: Heb. be evil in thine eyes11.25 one…: Heb. so and such
26¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.11.27 displeased: Heb. was evil in the eyes of
David e Bate-Seba
1Na primavera do ano seguinte, na altura em que as guerras costumam recomeçar, David enviou Joabe e o exército israelita destruir os amonitas. Começaram por pôr cerco à cidade de Rabá. David ficara em Jerusalém.
2Uma noite, levantou-se do leito onde repousava e foi para um terraço do seu palácio. Enquanto passeava reparou numa mulher muito bonita que estava a tomar banho. 3Procurou saber quem era e disseram-lhe que se tratava de Bate-Seba, filha de Eliam, mulher de Urias, o hitita. 4Mandou-a chamar. Quando veio, deitou-se com ela. A mulher tinha acabado de completar os ritos de purificação do seu período. Depois disso, voltou para casa. 5A mulher ficou grávida e mandou avisá-lo.
6O rei enviou um recado a Joabe: “Que Urias, o hitita, venha ter comigo.” 7Quando este chegou, David perguntou-lhe como ia Joabe e as tropas e como iam as ações de combate. 8Disse-lhe que fosse para casa descansar; mais tarde fez-lhe chegar um presente. 9Contudo, Urias não entrou na sua casa. Ficou à porta do palácio do soberano e ali passou a noite com outros servos do rei.
10Ao saber do que Urias tinha feito, David mandou-o chamar: “Que é que se passa contigo? Porque não foste para casa ter com a tua mulher a noite passada, depois de teres estado longe tanto tempo?”
11Urias replicou: “A arca, os exércitos, o general e os seus oficiais estão todos no campo de batalha e eu iria para casa beber vinho e dormir com a minha mulher? Juro que nunca me tornarei culpado de tal ação!”
12“Está bem. Fica então aqui e amanhã voltas.” Urias manteve-se por ali perto. 13Entretanto, David convidou-o para jantar e embebedou-o. Mesmo assim ele não foi a casa nessa noite; tornou a dormir à entrada do palácio.
14Na manhã seguinte David escreveu uma carta a Joabe e deu-a a Urias para que lha entregasse. 15A carta dava instruções a Joabe para colocar Urias na frente mais acesa da batalha, e para que depois se afastassem e o deixassem morrer.
16Joabe destacou Urias para um sítio junto à cidade sitiada, onde sabia estarem os melhores atiradores do inimigo. 17Dessa forma, Urias foi morto, com mais alguns outros soldados israelitas.
18Quando Joabe enviou ao rei o relatório dos combates, 19-20disse ao mensageiro: “Se o rei ficar furioso e perguntar: ‘Porque é que as tropas se chegaram tão perto da cidade? Não sabiam que havia atiradores lá dentro? 21Não foi Abimeleque, filho de Jerubaal, morto em Tebez por uma mulher que lhe atirou com uma mó de moinho em cima?’ Diz-lhe assim: ‘Também morreu teu servo Urias, o hitita.’ ”
22O mensageiro chegou a Jerusalém e transmitiu o relatório a David: 23“O inimigo veio sobre nós e eram mais fortes do que nós”, disse-lhe, “e quando estávamos a persegui-los até à entrada da cidade, 24do alto da muralha os arqueiros dispararam as suas flechas contra as tropas do rei, e alguns dos nossos, incluindo Urias, o hitita, foram mortos.”
25“Diz a Joabe que não perca a coragem”, respondeu David. “A espada tanto mata uns como outros! Lutem com mais ardor para a próxima vez e conquistem a cidade. Diz-lhe que estou satisfeito com a sua atuação.”
26Quando Bate-Seba soube que o marido tinha morrido, pôs luto por ele. 27Passado esse período de nojo, David mandou-a chamar e trouxe-a para o palácio. Ela tornou-se uma das suas mulheres e deu à luz o seu filho. No entanto, tudo isto que David fez pareceu muito mal aos olhos do Senhor.
