| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
2 Samuel
Chapter Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 11
This
chapter begins with the destruction of the Ammonites, and the siege of Rabbah
their chief city, 2 Samuel 11:1; and
enlarges on the sins of David in committing adultery with Bathsheba, 2 Samuel 11:2; in
contriving to conceal his sin by sending for her husband home from the army, 2 Samuel 11:6; in
laying a scheme for the death of him by the hand of the Ammonites, 2 Samuel 11:14; and
in marrying Bathsheba when he was dead, 2 Samuel 11:26.
2 Samuel 11:1 It happened in
the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that
David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed
the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
YLT
1And it cometh to pass, at
the revolution of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers --
that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they
destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling in
Jerusalem,
And it came to pass, that after the year was expired,.... Or at the
end of the year, as the Targum, which concluded with the month Adar or
February, the spring of the year:
at the time when kings go forth to battle; in the month
Nisan, as the Targum on 1 Chronicles 20:1;
adds, the same with Abib, which was the first month of the year, Exodus 12:2, a fit
time to go out to war; when, as the Jewish commentators observe, the rains were
over, and there were grass in the fields, and fruit on the trees, and corn
ripe, and so food for horse and men. This month was called Nisan, as some thinkF4Vid.
Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 50. col. 557. , from נסים,
the military banners then erected; so by the Romans it is called Martius, and
by us March, from Mars, the god of war; though someF5Weemse of the
Judicial Law, c. 28. p. 106. take this to be the month Tisri, answering to part
of September, and part of October, when all the fruits of the earth were
gathered in, and supposed to be a fit time for war, when the heat of the year
was declining:
that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; his whole
army under Joab as general; in 1 Chronicles 20:1;
it is "the power of the army"; the whole body of it: and they
destroyed the children of Ammon; burnt their cities, and slew the inhabitants
of them, and laid their land waste wherever they came:
and besieged Rabbah; their chief city, called
Rabathamana by PolybiusF6Hist. l. 5. p. 414. , that is, Rabbah of
Ammon, and afterwards. Philadelphia, from Philadelphus, king of Egypt, as it
was in the times of JeromF7De loc. Heb. fol. 94. C. :
but David tarried still at Jerusalem; which is
observed for the sake of the following history; it would have been well for him
if he had gone forth with the army himself, then the sin he fell into would
have been prevented.
2 Samuel 11:2 2 Then it happened one
evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s
house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very
beautiful to behold.
YLT
2and it cometh to pass, at
evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on
the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the
woman [is] of very good appearance,
And it came to pass in an eveningtide,.... Some time
in the afternoon, when the sun began to decline; not in the dusk of the
evening, for then the object he saw could not have been seen so distinctly by
him:
that David arose from off his bed; having taken a nap in
the heat of the day after dinner; indulging himself more than he used to do to
sloth and luxury, which prepared him, and led him on the more eagerly to the
lust of uncleanness:
and walked upon the roof of the king's house; to refresh
himself after his sleep, it being the cool of the day, and the roof of the
house being flat and fit to walk upon, as the houses of Judea were; see Deuteronomy 22:8,
and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; in a bath in
her garden, or in an apartment in her house, the window being open:
and the woman was very beautiful to look upon; of a fine
shape and good complexion, and comely countenance; all which were incentives to
lust, at which his eye was attracted to, and his heart was ensnared with her.
2 Samuel 11:3 3 So David sent and inquired
about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the
daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
YLT
3and David sendeth and
inquireth about the woman, and saith, `Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of
Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?'
And David sent and inquired after the woman,.... Who she
was, what her name, and whether married or unmarried; if the latter, very
probably his intention was to marry her, and he might, when he first made the
inquiry, design to proceed no further, or to anything that was dishonourable;
but it would have been better for him not to have inquired at all, and
endeavoured to stifle the motions raised in him at the sight of her:
and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of
Eliam; who in 1 Chronicles 3:5;
is called Bathshua, and her father Ammiel, which is the same with Eliam
reversed:
the wife of Uriah the Hittite? who either was of that
nation originally, and became a proselyte; or had sojourned there for a while,
and took the name or had it given him, for some exploit he had performed
against that people, as Scipio Africanus, and others among the Romans; this was
said by one that David inquired of, or heard him asking about her, and was
sufficient to have stopped him from proceeding any further, when he was
informed she was another man's wife: some sayF8Shalshalet Hakabala,
fol. 8. 2. she was the daughter of Ahithophel's son; see 2 Samuel 23:34.
2 Samuel 11:4 4 Then David sent
messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was
cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
YLT
4And David sendeth
messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her --
and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness -- and she turneth back unto
her house;
And David sent messengers,.... To invite her to his
palace:
and took her; not by force, but through persuasion:
and she came in unto him; into the apartment where
he was:
and he lay with her; she consenting to it,
being prevailed upon, and drawn into it through the greatness and goodness of
the man, which might make the sin appear the lesser to her. This is recorded to
show what the best of men are, when left to themselves; how strong and
prevalent corrupt nature is in regenerate persons, when grace is not in
exercise; what need the saints stand in of fresh supplies of grace, to keep
them from falling; what caution is necessary to everyone that stands, lest he
fall; and that it becomes us to abstain from all appearance of sin, and
whatever leads unto it, and to watch and pray that we enter not into
temptation; and such a record as this is an argument for the integrity of the
Scriptures, that they conceal not the faults of the greatest favourites
mentioned in them, as well as it serves to prevent despair in truly penitent
backsliders:
for she was purified from her uncleanness; this clause
is added in a parenthesis, partly to show the reason of her washing herself,
which was not for health and pleasure, and to cool herself in a hot day, but to
purify herself from her menstruous pollution, according to the law in Leviticus 15:19;
the term of her separation being expired; and partly to give a reason why she
the more easily consented, and he was the more eager to enjoy her; and in this
he sinned, not that he did not lie with an unclean person; but, then, as some
observe, he did that which was much worse, he committed adultery; also this may
be added to observe, that she was the more apt for conception, as Ben Gersom
notes, and to account for the quickness of it, with which the philosopherF9Aristot.
Hist. Animal. l. 7. c. 2. agrees:
and she returned unto her house; whether that evening, or
next morning, or how long she stayed, is not said.
2 Samuel 11:5 5 And the woman conceived;
so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
YLT
5and the woman conceiveth,
and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, `I [am] conceiving.'
And the woman conceived,.... Whereby the sin
would be discovered, and shame, and disgrace, or worse, would follow upon it:
and sent and told David, and said, I am with child; this message
she sent to David, that he might think of some ways and means to prevent the
scandal that would fall both upon him and her, and the danger she was exposed
unto; fearing the outcries of the people against her, in acting so unfaithful a
part to her husband, so brave a man, who was now fighting for his king and
country; and the rage and jealousy of her husband when he should come to the
knowledge of it, and the death which by the law she was guilty of, even to be
stoned with stones, see John 8:5.
2 Samuel 11:6 6 Then David sent to Joab, saying,
“Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
YLT
6And David sendeth unto
Joab, `Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David;
And David sent to Joab,.... Who was with the
army besieging Rabbah, which, according to BuntingF11Travels,
&c. p. 146. , was sixty four miles from Jerusalem:
saying, send me Uriah
the Hittite; the scheme David had contrived in his mind was to get Uriah home
to his wife for a few days, that it might be thought the child she had
conceived was his, whereby the sin of David, and her own, might be concealed:
and Joab sent Uriah to David; not knowing his
business, and besides it was his duty to obey his command.
2 Samuel 11:7 7 When Uriah had come to
him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the
war prospered.
YLT
7and Uriah cometh unto him,
and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the
people, and of the prosperity of the war.
And when Uriah was come unto him,.... To David, to whom he
came first, before he went to his own house, desirous of knowing what was the
special business of the king with him:
David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and
how the war prospered; he asked of the welfare of Joab the general, and of the common
soldiers, and of the warriors, as the Targum, the mighty men that went along
with Joab, 2 Samuel 10:7.
David seems to have been at a loss what to say to him. These questions were so
mean and trivial, that it might justly give Uriah some suspicion that it could
never he on this account, that he was sent for; since David could not want
intelligence of such things, expresses being daily sending him.
2 Samuel 11:8 8 And David said to Uriah,
“Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s
house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.
YLT
8And David saith to Uriah,
`Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's
house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king,
And David said to Uriah, go down to thy house, and wash thy feet,.... For his
refreshment, and to prepare for bed, which was what he wanted to get him to:
and Uriah departed out of the king's house; in order as
it might seem to the king to go to his own:
and there followed him a mess of meat from the king: no doubt a
delicious dish, to eat with his wife before he went to bed, to excite him the
more to desire the enjoyment of her this mess consisted, according to
Abarbinel, of bread, wine, and flesh; and who also observes, after Ben Gersom,
that the word may be interpreted of a torch to light him home to his house,
being night.
2 Samuel 11:9 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.
YLT
9and Uriah lieth down at the
opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not
gone down unto his house.
But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house, with all the
servants of his lord,.... The bodyguards, which were placed there to watch the palace
in the night season; Uriah first fell into a conversation with these as is
highly probable, to whom he was well known, and who might inquire of one and
another of their friends in the army; and he being weary, laid himself down
among there, and slept:
and went not down to his house; whether the trifling
questions David asked him, or the information the guards might give him of his
wife being sent for to court; made him suspect something, and so had no
inclination to go to this own house; or however so it was ordered by the
providence of God, which directed him to act in this manner, that the sin of
David and Bathsheba they studied to hide might be discovered.
2 Samuel 11:10 10 So when they told David,
saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not
come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
YLT
10And they declare to David,
saying, `Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah,
`Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy
house?'
And when they had told David,.... The next morning,
either those that went with the mess of meat, or the guards with whom he slept
all night:
saying, Uriah went not down to his house; as the king
had ordered him; which those persons being acquainted with, informed him of it,
as an act of disobedience to him:
David said unto Uriah; having sent for him upon
the above information:
camest thou not from thy journey? and which was
a long one of sixty four miles, as before observed and therefore might well be
weary, and want refreshment and rest, and his own house was the most proper
place for it; for which reason David suggests he had sent him thither, and did
not require nor need his service among his guards:
why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? which was the
fittest place for him in such circumstances.
2 Samuel 11:11 11 And Uriah said to David,
“The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the
servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my
house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as
your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
YLT
11And Uriah saith unto David,
`The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and
the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I -- I go
in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife! -- thy life, and
the life of thy soul -- if I do this thing.'
And Uriah said unto David,.... As an apology for
this conduct:
the ark, and Israel and Judah, abide in tents; meaning not
the people of Israel and Judah in the land of Canaan; for they did not now
dwell in tents, though indeed the ark of the Lord did, 2 Samuel 7:2, which
some think is here referred to; but the armies of Israel and Judah besieging
Rabbah, with whom it seems the ark was, which sometimes was carried with them
when they went out to war, 1 Samuel 4:4,
though Abarbinel thinks this was not the ark in which were the two tables of
stone, and therefore is not called the ark of the covenant, but an ark which
was made to put the ephod, and Urim and Thummim in that they might upon
occasion inquire of the Lord by them:
and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord are encamped in the
open fields: around Rabbah they were besieging; he calls Joab his lord,
because he was the chief general under whom he served and the rest of the
commanding officers he calls the servants of his lord as distinguished from the
common soldiers. The Jews, who are for excusing David from blame in the case of
Uriah, observeF12T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 56. 1. , that he was guilty of
rebellion against David, and so worthy of death not only because he disobeyed
his command, in not going to his house when he ordered him but by calling
"Joab my lord" in his presence: but this was only a respectable
character of his general and no overt act of treason to his king; nor did David
so understand it, nor in the least resent it: now seeing such great men, who
were far superior to him in rank and office were obliged to lie on the bare
ground, he argues:
shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink, and to lie
with my wife? if he had any suspicion of David's crime, he might purposely add
the last clause; and if not, it was enough to awaken the conscience of David,
and cut him to the quick had he not been greatly hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin to observe, that a faithful subject and a soldier of his
would not allow himself the enjoyment of lawful pleasures, when his fellow
soldiers were exposing their lives to danger for their country; and yet he
under such circumstances indulged to sinful lusts and criminal pleasures:
as thou livest and as
thy soul liveth I will not do this thing; he swears to it for the
confirmation of it; this he did to prevent any further solicitations from the
king, or his wife unto it, who were both anxiously desirous of it; for though
no mention is made of his wife, yet no doubt she did all she could to prevail
upon him to come to his house but all to no purpose; his mind was so bent to
the contrary through the overruling providence of God to which it must be
ascribed.
2 Samuel 11:12 12 Then David said to Uriah,
“Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained
in Jerusalem that day and the next.
YLT
12And David saith unto Uriah,
`Abide in this [place] also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah
abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow,
And David said to Uriah, tarry here today also,.... In his
court, when he found he could not persuade him to go to his own house:
and tomorrow I will let thee depart: after he had tried one
method more with him:
so Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow; not in his
own house, but the king's palace.
2 Samuel 11:13 13 Now when David called him,
he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to
lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his
house.
YLT
13and David calleth for him,
and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he
goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and
unto his house he hath not gone down.
And when David had called him,.... Invited him to sup
with him:
he did eat and drink before him; very freely and
plentifully:
and he made him drunk: this was another sin of
David's, done in order to make him forget his oath and vow, and that being
inflamed with wine, desires might be excited in him to go home and lie with his
wife; but even this scheme did not succeed:
and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his
lord: in the guard room, where he had lain before:
but went not down to his house; for he was not so drunk
but he remembered his oath, and kept his resolution not to go down to his own
house; the Lord no doubt working upon his mind and disinclining him to it.
2 Samuel 11:14 14 In the morning it happened
that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
YLT
14And it cometh to pass in
the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of
Uriah;
And it came to pass in the morning,.... When David was
informed that Uriah did not go to his own house, but slept with his servants,
Satan put it into his head and heart to take the following wicked and cruel
method:
that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand
of Uriah; to have him cut off by the sword of the enemy. If Uriah
suspected David's criminal conversation with his wife, he was so true and
trusted a servant to him, that he would not open his letter to Joab, which had
he, it would have betrayed the base design. No one that knows the story of
Bellerophon can read this without thinking of that, they are so much alike; and
indeed that seems to be founded upon this, and taken from it with a little
alteration. Bellerophon rejecting the solicitations of Sthenobaea, who was in
love with him, she prevailed upon her husband Praetus to send letters by him to
Jobates (a name similar to Joab), the general of his army, which contained
instructions to take care that he was killed; who sent him upon an expedition
for that purposeF13Apollodorus de Deorum Orig. l. 2. p. 70. .
2 Samuel 11:15 15 And he wrote in the
letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat
from him, that he may be struck down and die.”
YLT
15and he writeth in the
letter, saying, `Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle,
and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath
died.'
And he wrote in the letter, saying,.... Giving the following
orders to Joab:
set ye Uriah is the forefront of the hottest battle: over against
that part of the city where the enemy was strongest, and the battle the
fiercest, and the stones and arrows were cast the thickest:
and retire ye from him; leave him to himself to
combat the enemy alone; who seeing him deserted, would sally out upon him, and
the few that might be with him, and slay him:
that he may be smitten, and die; thus he sought to add
murder to adultery, and that in the basest manner, and which he accomplished;
and this is often the case, that murder follows adultery, either by way of
revenge for it, or in order to cover it, as here.
2 Samuel 11:16 16 So it was, while Joab
besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were
valiant men.
YLT
16And it cometh to pass in
Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he
knew that valiant men [are];
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city,.... Where lay
its greatest strength, and where it was best defended; or besieged it, as the
Targum:
that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men
were; who would not easily give way, and when they saw an opportunity
would sally out, Joab cannot be excused from sin, unless he thought that Uriah
had been guilty of death, and that David took this way of dispatching him for
some political reason; however David was king, and to be obeyed.
2 Samuel 11:17 17 Then the men of the city
came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of
David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
YLT
17and the men of the city go
out and fight with Joab, and there fall [some] of the people, of the servants
of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite.
And the men of the city went out,.... Made a sally out, as
Joab expected they would, when they appeared before them at that part of the
city where valiant men were:
and fought with Joab; at least with part of
his army posted with Uriah:
and there fell some of the people of the servants of David: which made
David's sin the more heinous, that several lives were lost through the
stratagem he devised to procure the death of Uriah; who could not be placed in
a dangerous post alone, and therefore others must be sacrificed with him, as
were:
and Uriah the Hittite died also; which was the thing
aimed at, and the end to be answered by this scheme.
2 Samuel 11:18 18 Then Joab sent and told
David all the things concerning the war,
YLT
18And Joab sendeth and
declareth to David all the matters of the war,
Then Joab sent,.... Messengers to David, as soon as Uriah
was killed:
and told David all the things concerning the war; how the siege
had been carried on; what success they had had, good or ill; what their
advantages and disadvantages; what men they had lost, and especially in one
sally of the enemy upon them, for the sake of which the express was sent.
2 Samuel 11:19 19 and charged the messenger,
saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king,
YLT
19and commandeth the
messenger, saying, `At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto
the king,
And charged the messenger,.... Gave him a
particular direction and instruction what he should say at the close of his
narrative, according as he should observe the king's countenance to be:
saying, when thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the
war unto the king; giving an account of all the events that happened since the
siege was begun to that time.
2 Samuel 11:20 20 if it happens that the
king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the
city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
YLT
20then, it hath been, if the
king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto
the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall?
And if so be that the king's wrath arise,.... Which
might be seen in his countenance, or expressed in his words:
and he say, wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye
did fight? as to expose the king's troops to the enemy on the wall, who by
stones or darts greatly annoyed them, or sallied out on them, and killed many
of them:
knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? they must
have known that, and therefore should have kept out of the reach of their shot.
2 Samuel 11:21 21 Who struck Abimelech the
son of Jerubbesheth?[a] Was it not
a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died
in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant
Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
YLT
21Who smote Abimelech son of
Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and
he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also
thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'
Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth?.... The same
with Jerubbaal, who was Gideon, Judges 6:32; Baal,
one part of his name, was the name of an idol, and sometimes called Bosheth or
Besheth, which signifies shame, being a shameful idol; Gideon had a son called
Abimelech, who was smitten, and it is here asked, by whom?
did not a woman cast a millstone upon him from the wall, that he
died in Thebez? which should have been a warning not to go too near the wall of
an enemy; the history is recorded in Judges 9:52,
why went ye nigh the wall? exposing your lives to
so much danger, and by which so many lives were lost:
then say thou, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; the whole has
not been told, the worst of all is, as the messenger was to represent it, that
brave gallant soldier Uriah is dead; this Joab ordered to be told last, as
knowing very well it would pacify the king's wrath, and was the agreeable news
he wanted to hear.
2 Samuel 11:22 22 So the messenger went, and
came and told David all that Joab had sent by him.
YLT
22And the messenger goeth,
and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him,
So the messenger went,.... From Joab, from the
army before Rabbah:
and came; to David in Jerusalem, a course of sixty four miles:
and showed David all that Joab had sent him for; all the
events of the war hitherto.
2 Samuel 11:23 23 And the messenger said to
David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field;
then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate.
YLT
23and the messenger saith
unto David, `Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us
into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,
And the messenger said unto David,.... The particulars of
his account follow:
surely the men prevailed against us; the men of the city of
Rabbah, the besieged there, in one onset they made upon them:
and came out unto us in the field; the besiegers that lay
encamped there; they sallied out upon them:
and we were upon them, even unto the entering of the gate; rallied upon
them, and drove them back, and pursued them to the gate of the city.
2 Samuel 11:24 24 The archers shot from the
wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and
your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”
YLT
24and those shooting shoot at
thy servants from off the wall, and [some] of the servants of the king are
dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.
And the shooters shot from off of the wall upon thy servants,.... Arrows
out of their bows, or stones out of their engines; the Israelites following
them so closely to the gate of the city, came within the reach of their shot
from the wall:
and some of the king's servants be dead; killed in the
sally upon them, and by the shot from the wall:
and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; the messenger
did not entirely obey the orders of Joab to wait and observe if the king's
wrath arose, but was in haste to tell him the last piece of news; perhaps he
had some suspicion, from the manner of Joab's telling him what he should say,
that this would be acceptable to the king.
2 Samuel 11:25 25 Then David said to the
messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you,
for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against
the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.”
YLT
25And David saith unto the
messenger, `Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine
eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against
the city, and throw it down -- and strengthen thou him.'
Then David said to the messenger,.... Whom he dispatched
again to Joab upon the delivery of his message:
thus shall thou say to Joab; in the name of David:
let not this thing displease thee; be not grieved, and cast
down, and intimidated at the repulse he had met with, and the loss of so many
brave men, and especially Uriah:
for the sword devours one as well as another; officers as
well as soldiers the strong as well as the weak, the valiant and courageous as
well as the more timorous; the events of war are various and uncertain, and to
be submitted to, and not repined at, and laid to heart. David's heart being
hardened by sin, made light of the death of his brave soldiers, to which he
himself was accessory; his conscience was very different now from what it was
when he cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, and his heart in a different frame
from that in which he composed the lamentation over Saul and Jonathan:
make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it; more closely
besiege it, more vigorously attack it; assault it, endeavour to take it by
storm, and utterly destroy it, razing the very foundations of it: and encourage
thou him; which words are either said to the messenger to encourage and animate
Joab in David's name, which is not so likely that a messenger should be
employed to encourage the general; or rather the words of David to Joab
continued, that he would "encourage it", the army under him, who
might be disheartened with the rebuff and loss they had met with; and therefore
Joab is bid to spirit them up, to carry on the siege with vigour.
2 Samuel 11:26 26 When the wife of Uriah
heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
YLT
26And the wife of Uriah
heareth that Uriah her husband [is] dead, and lamenteth for her lord;
And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead,.... The news
of which were soon sent her by David, though it is very probable she knew
nothing of the plot to take away his life; and, besides, David chose to have
his death published abroad as soon as possible, the more to hide his sin:
she mourned for her husband; expressed tokens of
mourning by shedding tears, putting on a mourning habit, seeing no company, and
this continued for the space of seven days, it may be, 1 Samuel 31:13; as
little time as possible was spent in this way, and the marriage hastened, that
the adultery might not be discovered.
2 Samuel 11:27 27 And when her mourning was
over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore
him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
YLT
27and the mourning passeth
by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a
wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in
the eyes of Jehovah.
And when the mourning was past,.... The seven days were
at an end, or sooner; for he stayed not ninety days from the death of her
husband, which the Jews in later times enjoinedF14Misn. Yebamot, c.
11. sect. 6. , that it might be known whether with child by her former husband,
and so to whom it belonged; and because David did not wait this time, Abarbinel
charges it upon him as an additional sin:
David sent, and fetched her to his house; took her home
to his palace to live with him:
and she became his wife; he married her according
to the usual form of marriage in those days:
and bare him a son; begotten in adultery:
but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord; or "was
evil in the eyes of the Lord"F15ירע בעיני יהוה "malum in oculis
Domini", Montanus. ; for though it was not done in the eyes of men, being
scarcely or very little known, yet was in the eyes of the Lord, which run to
and fro throughout the earth, and sees all things that are done: the adultery
he had been guilty of with another man's wife was abominable to the Lord, and
for which, according to the law, both he and she ought to have been put to
death, Leviticus 20:10;
the murder of her husband, which he was accessory to, as well as the death of
many others, and the marriage of her under such circumstances, were all
displeasing to God, and of such an heinous nature, that his pure eyes could not
look upon with approbation: the JewsF16T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 56. 1.
Gloss. in ib. endeavour to excuse David from sin; from the sin of murder, by
making Uriah guilty of rebellion and treason, as before observed; and from the
sin of adultery, by affirming that it was the constant custom for men, when
they went out to war, to give their wives a bill of divorce; so that from the
time of giving the bill they were not their wives, and such as lay with them
were not guilty of adultery; but for this there is no foundation: it is certain
David was charged with it by the Lord; he himself owned it, and bewailed it,
both that and his blood guiltiness, and the following chapter abundantly proves
it.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)