2 Samuel 10:1--12:31
Konteks10:1 Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him. 1 10:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty 2 to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal 3 to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. 4 When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites, 10:3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? 5 No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!” 6
10:4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, 7 and then sent them away. 10:5 Messengers 8 told David what had happened, 9 so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho 10 until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”
10:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, 11 they 12 sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, 13 in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob. 14
10:7 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them. 15 10:8 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
10:9 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. 16 10:10 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army 17 and they were deployed 18 against the Ammonites. 10:11 Joab 19 said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, 20 you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, 21 I will come to your rescue. 10:12 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” 22
10:13 So Joab and his men 23 marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him. 10:14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to 24 Jerusalem. 25
10:15 When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they consolidated their forces. 26 10:16 Then Hadadezer sent for Arameans from 27 beyond the Euphrates River, 28 and they came to Helam. Shobach, the general in command of Hadadezer’s army, led them. 29
10:17 When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, 30 and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him. 10:18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. 31 He also struck down Shobach, the general in command of the army, who died there. 10:19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer 32 saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. 33 The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings 34 normally conduct wars, 35 David sent out Joab with his officers 36 and the entire Israelite army. 37 They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. 38 11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. 39 From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive. 40 11:3 So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger 41 said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
11:4 David sent some messengers to get her. 42 She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. 43 (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) 44 Then she returned to her home. 11:5 The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”
11:6 So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 11:7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going. 45 11:8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.” 46 When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him. 47 11:9 But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all 48 the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house.
11:10 So they informed David, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So David said to Uriah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?” 11:11 Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations 49 with my wife? As surely as you are alive, 50 I will not do this thing!” 11:12 So David said to Uriah, “Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one. 51 11:13 Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.
11:14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 11:15 In the letter he wrote: “Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”
11:16 So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers 52 were. 11:17 When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers 53 fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.
11:18 Then Joab sent a full battle report to David. 54 11:19 He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish giving the battle report to the king, 11:20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall? 11:21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone 55 down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”
11:22 So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. 11:23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and attacked us 56 in the field. But we forced them to retreat all the way 57 to the door of the city gate. 11:24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king’s soldiers 58 died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. 59 There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. 60 Press the battle against the city and conquer 61 it.’ Encourage him with these words.” 62
11:26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. 63 11:27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. 64 She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord. 65
12:1 So the Lord sent Nathan 66 to David. When he came to David, 67 Nathan 68 said, 69 “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. 70 It used to 71 eat his food, 72 drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. 73 It was just like a daughter to him.
12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, 74 he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed 75 the traveler who had come to visit him. 76 Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked 77 it for the man who had come to visit him.”
12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 78 12:6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!” 79
12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose 80 you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 12:8 I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. 81 I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well! 12:9 Why have you shown contempt for the word of the Lord by doing evil in my 82 sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife as your own! 83 You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 12:10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’ 12:11 This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you 84 from inside your own household! 85 Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion. 86 He will have sexual relations with 87 your wives in broad daylight! 88 12:12 Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’” 89
12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven 90 your sin. You are not going to die. 12:14 Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt 91 in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”
12:15 Then Nathan went to his home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill. 92 12:16 Then David prayed to 93 God for the child and fasted. 94 He would even 95 go and spend the night lying on the ground. 12:17 The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.
12:18 On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us 96 when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!” 97
12:19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he 98 realized that the child was dead. So David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “Yes, he’s dead.” 12:20 So David got up from the ground, bathed, put on oil, and changed his clothes. He went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then, when he entered his palace, he requested that food be brought to him, and he ate.
12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While 99 the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!” 12:22 He replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, 100 ‘Perhaps 101 the Lord will show pity and the child will live. 12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’”
12:24 So David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had marital relations with her. 102 She gave birth to a son, and David 103 named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved the child 104 12:25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that he should be named Jedidiah 105 for the Lord’s sake.
12:26 106 So Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. 12:27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city. 107 12:28 So now assemble the rest of the army 108 and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city and it will be named for me.”
12:29 So David assembled all the army and went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it. 12:30 He took the crown of their king 109 from his head – it was gold, weighed about seventy-five pounds, 110 and held a precious stone – and it was placed on David’s head. He also took from the city a great deal of plunder. 12:31 He removed 111 the people who were in it and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This was his policy 112 with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. 113
[10:1] 1 tn Heb “reigned in his place.”
[10:2] 3 tn Heb “did loyalty.”
[10:2] 4 tn Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”
[10:3] 5 tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
[10:3] 6 tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”
[10:4] 7 tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto their buttocks.”
[10:5] 8 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:5] 9 tn The words “what had happened” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[10:5] 10 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[10:6] 11 tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”
[10:6] 12 tn Heb “the Ammonites.”
[10:6] 13 tn Or “Arameans of Beth Rehob and Arameans of Zobah.”
[10:6] 14 tn Or perhaps “the men of Tob.” The ancient versions (the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) understand the name to be “Ish-tob.” It is possible that “Ish” is dittographic and that we should read simply “Tob,” a reading adopted by a number of recent English versions.
[10:7] 15 tn The words “the news” and “to meet them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
[10:9] 16 tn Heb “and Joab saw that the face of the battle was to him before and behind and he chose from all the best in Israel and arranged to meet Aram.”
[10:10] 18 tn Heb “he arranged.”
[10:11] 19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:11] 20 tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”
[10:11] 21 tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”
[10:12] 22 tn Heb “and the
[10:13] 23 tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”
[10:14] 24 tn Heb “and Joab returned from against the sons of Ammon and entered.”
[10:14] 25 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:15] 26 tn Heb “were gathered together.”
[10:16] 27 tn Heb “and Hadadezer sent and brought out Aram which is.”
[10:16] 28 tn Heb “from beyond the River.” The name “Euphrates” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 29 tn Heb “was before them.”
[10:17] 30 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:18] 31 tn Heb “horsemen” (so KJV, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT) but the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “foot soldiers,” as does the parallel text in 1 Chr 19:18. Cf. NAB, NIV.
[10:19] 32 tn Heb “the servants of Hadadezer.”
[10:19] 33 tn Heb “and they served them.”
[11:1] 34 tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאכִים, hammal’khim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew
[11:1] 36 tn Heb “and his servants with him.”
[11:1] 37 tn Heb “all Israel.”
[11:1] 38 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.
[11:1] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:2] 39 tn Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.
[11:2] 40 tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.
[11:3] 41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the messenger) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:4] 42 tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”
[11:4] 43 tn Heb “he lay with her” (so NASB, NRSV); TEV “he made love to her”; NIV, CEV, NLT “he slept with her.”
[11:4] 44 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.
[11:7] 45 tn Heb “concerning the peace of Joab and concerning the peace of the people and concerning the peace of the battle.”
[11:8] 46 tn Heb “and wash your feet.”
[11:8] 47 tn Heb “and there went out after him the gift of the king.”
[11:9] 48 tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation lacks the word “all.”
[11:11] 50 tn Heb “as you live and as your soul lives.”
[11:12] 51 tn On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 287.
[11:16] 52 tn Heb “the valiant men.” This refers in context to the strongest or most valiant defenders of the city Joab and the Israelite army were besieging, so the present translation uses “the best enemy soldiers” for clarity.
[11:17] 53 tn Heb “some of the people from the servants of David.”
[11:18] 54 tn Heb “Joab sent and related to David all the matters of the battle.”
[11:21] 55 sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.
[11:23] 56 tn Heb “and came out to us.”
[11:23] 57 tn Heb “but we were on them.”
[11:24] 58 tc The translation follows the Qere (“your servants”) rather than the Kethib (“your servant”).
[11:25] 59 tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”
[11:25] 60 tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”
[11:25] 61 tn Heb “overthrow.”
[11:25] 62 tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[11:26] 63 tn Heb “for her lord.”
[11:27] 64 tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”
[11:27] 65 tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the
[12:1] 66 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[12:1] 67 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:1] 68 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:1] 69 tn The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”
[12:3] 71 tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.
[12:3] 72 tn Heb “from his morsel.”
[12:3] 73 tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”
[12:4] 74 tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.
[12:4] 75 tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”
[12:4] 76 tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
[12:4] 77 tn Heb “and prepared.”
[12:5] 78 tn Heb “the man doing this [is] a son of death.” See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean “he is as good as dead” or “he deserves to die,” as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.
[12:6] 79 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek translation has here “sevenfold” rather than “fourfold,” a reading that S. R. Driver thought probably to be the original reading (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 291). However, Exod 22:1 [21:37 HT] specifies fourfold repayment for a stolen sheep, which is consistent with 2 Sam 12:6. Some
[12:6] tn Heb “the lamb he must repay fourfold because he did this thing and because he did not have compassion.”
[12:8] 81 tn Heb “and the wives of your lord into your chest [or “lap”].” The words “I put” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
[12:9] 82 tc So the Qere; the Kethib has “his.”
[12:9] 83 tn Heb “to you for a wife.” This expression also occurs at the end of v. 10.
[12:11] 84 tn Heb “raise up against you disaster.”
[12:11] 85 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV); NCV, TEV, CEV “family.”
[12:11] 87 tn Heb “will lie with” (so NIV, NRSV); TEV “will have intercourse with”; CEV, NLT “will go to bed with.”
[12:11] 88 tn Heb “in the eyes of this sun.”
[12:12] 89 tn Heb “and before the sun.”
[12:14] 91 tc The MT has here “because you have caused the enemies of the
[12:15] 92 tn Heb “and the
[12:16] 93 tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”
[12:16] 94 tn Heb “and David fasted.”
[12:16] 95 tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.
[12:18] 96 tn Heb “to our voice.”
[12:18] 97 tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!
[12:19] 98 tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[12:21] 99 tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bÿ’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.
[12:22] 101 tn Heb “Who knows?”
[12:24] 102 tn Heb “and he lay with her.”
[12:24] 103 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While some translations render the pronoun as third person plural (“they”), implying that both David and Bathsheba together named the child, it is likely that the name “Solomon,” which is related to the Hebrew word for “peace” (and may be derived from it) had special significance for David, who would have regarded the birth of a second child to Bathsheba as a confirming sign that God had forgiven his sin and was at peace with him.
[12:24] 104 tn Heb “him,” referring to the child.
[12:25] 105 sn The name Jedidiah means “loved by the
[12:26] 106 sn Here the narrative resumes the battle story that began in 11:1 (see 11:25). The author has interrupted that story to give the related account of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. He now returns to the earlier story and brings it to a conclusion.
[12:27] 107 sn The expression translated the water supply of the city (Heb “the city of the waters”) apparently refers to that part of the fortified city that guarded the water supply of the entire city. Joab had already captured this part of the city, but he now defers to King David for the capture of the rest of the city. In this way the king will receive the credit for this achievement.
[12:28] 108 tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 29, 31.
[12:30] 109 tn Part of the Greek tradition wrongly understands Hebrew מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”) as a proper name (“Milcom”). Some English versions follow the Greek here, rendering the phrase “the crown of Milcom” (so NRSV; cf. also NAB, CEV). TEV takes this as a reference not to the Ammonite king but to “the idol of the Ammonite god Molech.”
[12:30] 110 tn Heb “and its weight [was] a talent of gold.” The weight of this ornamental crown was approximately 75 lbs (34 kg). See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 313.
[12:31] 111 tn Heb “brought out.”
[12:31] 112 tn Heb “and so he would do.”
[12:31] 113 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
