II Samuel 11

¹Forsothe it was doon, whanne the yeer turnede ayen in that tyme wherynne kyngis ben wont to go forth to batels, Dauid sente Joab, and with hym hise seruauntis, and al Israel; and thei distrieden the sones of Amon, and bisegiden Rabath; forsothe Dauid dwellide in Jerusalem.

²While these thingis weren doon, it befelde, that Dauid roos in a dai fro his bed after mydday, and walkide in the soler of the kyngis hows; and he siy a womman waischynge hir silf euen ayens on hir soler; sotheli the womman was ful fair.

³Therfor the kyng sente, and enqueride, what womman it was; and it was teld to hym, that sche was Bersabee, the douytir of Heliam, and was the wijf of Vrye Ethei.

⁴Therfor bi messangeris sent Dauid took hir; and whanne sche entride to hym, he slepte with hir, and anoon sche was halewid fro hir vnclenesse.

⁵And sche turnede ayen in to hir hows, with child conseyued; and sche sente, and telde to Dauid, and seide, Y haue conseyued.

⁶Forsothe Dauid sente to Joab, and seide, Sende thou Vrye Ethei to me; and Joab sente Vrye to Dauid.

⁷And Vrie cam to Dauid; and Dauid axide, hou riytfuli Joab dide and the puple, and hou the batel was mynystrid.

⁸And Dauid seide to Vrye, Go in to thin hows, and waische thi feet. Vrye yede out fro the hows of the kyng, and the kyngis mete suede hym.

⁹Sotheli Vrye slepte bifor the yate of the kyngis hows with othere seruauntis of his lord, and yede not doun to his hows.

¹⁰And it was teld to Dauid of men, seiynge, Vrye `yede not to his hows. And Dauid seide to Vrye, Whether thou camest not fro the weye? whi yedist thou not doun in to thin hows?

¹¹And Vrie seide to Dauid, The arke of God, Israel and Juda dwellen in tentis, and my lord Joab, and the seruauntis of my lord dwellen on the face of erthe, and schal Y go in to myn hows, to ete and drynke, and slepe with my wijf? Bi thin helthe, and bi the helthe of thi soule, Y schal not do this thing.

¹²Therfor Dauid seide to Vrye, Dwelle thou here also to dai, and to morewe Y schal delyuere thee. Vrie dwellide in Jerusalem in that day and the tothir.

¹³And Dauid clepide hym, that he schulde ete and drynke bifor hym, and Dauid made drunkun Vrye; and he yede out in the euentid, and slepte in his bed with the seruauntes of his lord; and yede not doun in to his hows.

¹⁴Therfor the morewtid was maad, and Dauid wroot epistle to Joab, and sente bi the hond of Vrye,

¹⁵and wroot in the pistle, Sette ye Vrye euene ayens the batel, where the batel is strongeste, `that is, where the aduersaries ben stronge, and forsake ye hym, that he be smitun and perische.

¹⁶Therfor whanne Joab bisegide the citee, he settide Vrie in the place where he wiste that strongeste men weren.

¹⁷And men yeden out of the citee, and fouyten ayens Joab, and thei killiden of the puple of seruauntis of Dauid, and also Vrye Ethei was deed.

¹⁸Therfor Joab sente, and telde alle the wordis of the batel;

¹⁹and he comaundyde to the messanger, and seide, Whanne thou hast fillid alle wordis of the batel to the kyng,

²⁰if thou seest, that he is wrooth, and seith, Whi neiyiden ye to the wal to fiyte? whether ye wisten not, that many dartis ben sent `fro aboue fro the wal?

²¹who smoot Abymelech, sone of Gerobaal? whether not a womman sente on hym a gobet of a mylnestoon fro the wal, and killide hym in Thebes? whi neiyiden ye bisidis the wal? thou schalt seie, Also thi seruaunt, Vrye Ethei, diede.

²²Therfor the messanger yede, and telde to Dauid alle thingis whiche Joab hadde comaundid to hym.

²³And the messanger seide to Dauid, `Men hadden the maistri ayens us, and thei yeden out to vs in to the feeld; sotheli bi `fersnesse maad we pursueden hem `til to the yate of the citee.

²⁴And archeris senten dartis to thi seruauntis fro the wal aboue, and summe of the `kyngis seruauntis ben deed; forsothe also thi seruaunt, Vrye Ethei, is deed.

²⁵And Dauid seide to the messanger, Thou schalt seie these thingis to Joab, This thing breke not thee; for the bifallyng of batel is dyuerse, and swerd wastith now this man, now that man; coumforte thi fiyteris ayens the citee, that thou distrye it, and excite thou hem.

²⁶Forsothe the wijf of Vrye herde, that Vrye hir hosebond was deed, and sche biweilide hym.

²⁷And whanne the morenyng was passid, Dauid sente, and brouyte hir in to his hows; and sche was maad wijf to hym, and sche childide a sone to hym. And this word which Dauid hadde do displeside bifor the Lord.

II Samuel 11

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.

²And 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?

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.

⁵And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

⁶And 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.

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.

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.

¹⁴And 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.

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.

¹⁸Then 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.

²²So 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.

²⁶And 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.