David and Bathsheba
1 The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, David sent out Joab with his officers and the Israelite army; they defeated the Ammonites and besieged the city of Rabbah. But David himself stayed in Jerusalem.
2 One day, late in the afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked around up there, he saw a woman taking a bath in her house. She was very beautiful. 3 So he sent a messenger to find out who she was, and learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. 4 David sent messengers to get her; they brought her to him and he made love to her. (She had just finished her monthly ritual of purification.) Then she went back home. 5 Afterward she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him.
6 David then sent a message to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him if Joab and the troops were well, and how the fighting was going. 8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go on home and rest a while.” Uriah left, and David had a present sent to his home. 9 But Uriah did not go home; instead he slept at the palace gate with the king's guards. 10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he asked him, “You have just returned after a long absence; why didn't you go home?”
11 Uriah answered, “The men of Israel and Judah are away in battle, and the Covenant Box is with them; my commander Joab and his officers are camping out in the open. How could I go home, eat and drink, and sleep with my wife? By all that's sacred, I swear that I could never do such a thing!”
12 So David said, “Then stay here the rest of the day, and tomorrow I'll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 David invited him to supper and got him drunk. But again that night Uriah did not go home; instead he slept on his blanket in the palace guardroom.
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. 15 He wrote: “Put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed.” 16 So while Joab was besieging the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy was strong. 17 The enemy troops came out of the city and fought Joab's forces; some of David's officers were killed, and so was Uriah.
18 Then Joab sent a report to David telling him about the battle, 19 and he instructed the messenger, “After you have told the king all about the battle, 20 he may get angry and ask you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight them? Didn't you realize that they would shoot arrows from the walls? 21 Don't you remember how Abimelech son of Gideon was killed? It was at Thebez, where a woman threw a millstone down from the wall and killed him. Why, then, did you go so near the wall?’ If the king asks you this, tell him, ‘Your officer Uriah was also killed.’”
22 So the messenger went to David and told him what Joab had commanded him to say. 23 He said, “Our enemies were stronger than we were and came out of the city to fight us in the open, but we drove them back to the city gate. 24 Then they shot arrows at us from the wall, and some of Your Majesty's officers were killed; your officer Uriah was also killed.”
25 David said to the messenger, “Encourage Joab and tell him not to be upset, since you never can tell who will die in battle. Tell him to launch a stronger attack on the city and capture it.”
26 When Bathsheba heard that her husband had been killed, she mourned for him. 27 When the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to the palace; she became his wife and bore him a son. But the Lord was not pleased with what David had done.
داود وبتشابع
1 ولمَّا جاءَ الرَّبـيعُ، وهوَ وقتُ خُروجِ المُلوكِ إلى الحربِ، أرسلَ داوُدُ يوآبَ والقادةَ معَهُ على رأسِ كُلِّ جيشِ بَني إِسرائيلَ، فسحقوا بَني عَمُّونَ وحاصروا مدينةَ رِبَّةَ. وأمَّا داوُدُ فبَقيَ في أورُشليمَ.
2 وعِندَ المَساءِ قامَ داوُدُ عَنْ سريرهِ وتمشَّى على سطحِ القصرِ، فرأى على السَّطحِ امرأةً تَستحِمُّ وكانَت جميلةً جدًّا. 3 فسألَ عَنها، فقيلَ لَه: «هذِهِ بَتشابَعُ بنتُ أليعامَ، زوجَةُ أوريَّا الحِثِّـيِّ». 4 فأرسَلَ إليها رُسُلا عادوا بها وكانَت اغتَسلت وتَطهَّرت، فدخَلَ علَيها ونامَ معَها، ثُمَّ رجعت إلى بَيتِها. 5 وحينَ أحسَّت أنَّها حُبلى أعلَمتهُ بذلِكَ.
6 فأرسَلَ داوُدُ إلى يوآبَ يقولُ: «أرسِلْ إليَّ أوريَّا الحِثِّيَّ» فأرسَلَهُ. 7 فلمَّا جاءَ سألَهُ داوُدُ عَنْ سلامةِ يوآبَ والجيشِ وعَنِ الحربِ، 8 ثُمَّ قالَ لَه: «إنزِلْ إلى بَيتِكَ واغسِلْ رِجلَيكَ واسترِحْ». فخَرجَ أوريَّا مِنَ القصرِ وتَبِــعتْهُ هديَّةٌ مِنْ عِندِ داوُدَ. 9 فنامَ على بابِ القصرِ معَ الحرَسِ ولم ينزِلْ إلى بَيتِهِ. 10 فلمَّا قيلَ لداوُدَ: «أوريَّا لم يَنزِلْ إلى بَيتِهِ»، دَعاهُ وقالَ لَه: «أما جِئتَ مِنَ السَّفرِ؟ فما بالُكَ لا تنزِلُ إلى بَيتِكَ؟» 11 فأجابَهُ أوريَّا: «تابوتُ العَهدِ ورِجالُ إسرائيلَ ويَهوذا مُقيمونَ في الخيامِ، ويوآبُ وقادَةُ سيِّدي المَلِكِ في البَرِّيَّةِ، فكيفَ أدخُلُ بَيتي وآكُلُ وأشربُ وأنامُ معَ زوجَتي؟ لا وحياتِكَ، لا أفعَلُ هذا». 12 فقالَ لَه داوُدُ: «أقمْ هُنا اليومَ، وغَدا أصرِفُكَ». فبقيَ أوريَّا ذلِكَ اليومَ في أورُشليمَ، 13 وفي اليومِ التَّالي دعاهُ داوُدُ، فأكلَ معَهُ وشربَ حتّى سَكِرَ. ثُمَّ خرَجَ مساءً، فنامَ حيثُ ينامُ الحرَسُ، ولم ينزِلْ إلى بَيتِهِ.
14 فلمَّا طلَعَ الصَّباحُ كتَبَ داوُدُ إلى يوآبَ مكتوبا وأرسَلَهُ بـيَدِ أوريَّا، 15 يقولُ فيهِ: «وجِّهوا أوريَّا إلى حيثُ يكونُ القِتالُ شديدا، وارجِعوا مِنْ ورائِه فيَضرِبَهُ العَدوُّ ويموتُ». 16 وكانَ يوآبُ يحاصِرُ المدينةَ، فعيَّنَ لأوريَّا موضِعا عَلِمَ أنَّ للعدوِّ فيهِ رِجالا أشدَّاءَ. 17 فخرَجَ رِجالُ المدينةِ وحارَبوا يوآبَ، فسقَطَ لداوُدَ بَعضُ القادَةِ ومِنْ بَينِهِم أوريَّا الحِثِّيُّ. 18 فأرسَلَ يوآبُ وأخبَرَ داوُدَ بكلِّ ما جرى في الحربِ. 19 وقالَ يوآبُ للرَّسولِ: «بَعدَما تُخبِرُ الملكَ بكُلِّ ما جرى في الحربِ، 20 وإذا ثارَ غضَبُهُ وقالَ: لماذا دنَوتُم مِنْ سورِ المدينةِ لِتُحاربوا؟ أما تعلَمونَ أنَّ الّذينَ فوقَ السُّورِ يَرمونَكُم بالسِّهامِ؟ 21 مَنْ قتَلَ أبـيمالِكَ بنَ يَروبَّشْثَ؟ أما هيَ امرأةٌ في تاباصَ رَمتْهُ بِـحَجرِ طاحونةٍ مِنْ فوقِ السُّورِ فقُتِلَ؟ فلماذا دَنوتم مِنَ السُّورِ؟» إذا قالَ لكَ هذا الكلامَ أجِبْهُ: «عبدُكَ أوريَّا الحِثِّيُّ أيضا ماتَ».
22 فذهَبَ الرَّسولُ إلى داوُدَ وأخبرَهُ بِـجميعِ ما أمرَهُ بهِ يوآبُ، 23 وقالَ لداوُدَ: «قَويَ علَينا الأعداءُ وخرَجوا لقِتالِنا في البَرِّيَّةِ، فطارَدناهُم إلى بابِ المدينةِ، 24 فرَمانا العَدوُّ بالسِّهامِ مِنْ فوقِ السُّورِ، فماتَ البَعضُ مِنْ قادَةِ المَلِكِ، وقُتِلَ أيضا عبدُكَ أوريَّا الحِثِّيُّ». 25 فقالَ لَه داوُدُ: «هذا ما تقولُ ليوآبَ: «لا يُحزِنُكَ ذلِكَ، لأنَّ السَّيفَ لا يرحَمُ أحدا. تابِــعْ هُجومَكَ على المدينةِ ودمِّرْها. قُلْ لَه ذلِكَ حتّى يتشجَّعَ».
26 وسمِعَت زوجَةُ أوريَّا أنَّ زوجَها ماتَ، فّناحَت علَيهِ. 27 ولمَّا انتَهَت أيّام مَناحَتِها، أرسَلَ داوُدُ وضَمَّها إلى بَيتِهِ، فكانَت زوجَةً لَه وولدَت لَه ابنا. واستاءَ الرّبُّ مِمَّا فعلَهُ داوُدُ.