2 Samuel 11:4–15

⁴Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and ^ahe lay with her; ^band when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

⁵And the woman became pregnant; and she sent and told David, and said, “^aI am pregnant.”

⁶Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David.

⁷When Uriah came to him, ^aDavid asked concerning the ¹state of Joab and the ²state of the people and the ³state of the war.

⁸Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and ^awash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present from the king went out after him.

⁹But Uriah lay down ^aat the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰Then they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house.” And David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

¹¹And Uriah said to David, “^aThe ark and Israel and Judah are staying in ¹booths, and my lord Joab and ^bthe servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.”

¹²Then David said to Uriah, “^aStay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you out.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the ¹next.

¹³Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he ^amade him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed ^bwith his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴Now it happened in the morning that David ^awrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

^15aAnd he had written in the letter, saying, “¹Place Uriah in the front line of the ²fiercest battle and withdraw from him, ^bso that he may be struck down and die.”