^9:2Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.”³^9:3The king asked, “Is there not someone left from Saul’s family,⁴ that I may extend God’s kindness to him?” Ziba said to the king, “One of Jonathan’s sons is left; both of his feet are crippled.” ^9:4The king asked him, “Where is he?” Ziba told the king, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.

^9:5So King David had him brought⁵ from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in⁶ Lo Debar. ^9:6When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground.⁷ David said, “Mephibosheth?” He replied, “Yes, at your service.”⁸

^9:7David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.”⁹^9:8Then Mephibosheth¹⁰ bowed and said, “Of what importance am I, your servant, that you show regard for a dead dog like me?”¹¹

^9:9Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s attendant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I hereby give to your master’s grandson. ^9:10You will cultivate¹² the land for him—you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce¹³ and it will be¹⁴ food for your master’s grandson to eat.¹⁵ But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will be a regular guest at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

^9:11Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth was a regular guest¹⁶ at David’s table,¹⁷ just as though he were one of the king’s sons.

^9:12Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. All the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. ^9:13Mephibosheth was living in Jerusalem,¹⁸ for he was a regular guest at the king’s table. But both his feet were crippled.

David and the Ammonites

^10:1Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him.¹^10:2David said, “I will express my loyalty² to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal³ 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, ^10:3the 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

^10:4So 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. ^10:5Messengers⁸ told David what had happened,⁹ so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho¹⁰ until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

^10:6When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them,¹¹ they¹² 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

^10:7When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them.¹⁵^10:8The 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.

^10:9When 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.¹⁶^10:10He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army¹⁷ and they were deployed¹⁸ against the Ammonites. ^10:11Joab¹⁹ 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. ^10:12Be 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

^10:13So Joab and his men²³ marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him. ^10:14When 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 to²⁴ Jerusalem.²⁵

^10:15When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they consolidated their forces.²⁶^10:16Then Hadadezer sent for Arameans from²⁷ beyond the Euphrates River,²⁸ and they came to Helam. Shobach, the general in command of Hadadezer’s army, led them.²⁹

^10:17When 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. ^10:18The 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. ^10:19When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer³² 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.

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

^11:1In the spring of the year, at the time when kings¹ normally conduct wars,² David sent out Joab with his officers³ and the entire Israelite army.⁴ They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.⁵^11:2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace.⁶ From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive.⁷^11:3So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger⁸ said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

^11:4David sent some messengers to get her.⁹ She came to him and he had sexual relations with her.¹⁰ (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.)¹¹ Then she returned to her home. ^11:5The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”

^11:6So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ^11:7When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going.¹²^11:8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.”¹³ When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him.¹⁴^11:9But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all¹⁵ the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house.

^11:10So 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?” ^11:11Uriah 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 relations¹⁶ with my wife? As surely as you are alive,¹⁷ I will not do this thing!” ^11:12So 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.¹⁸^11:13Then 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.

^11:14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ^11:15In 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.”

^11:16So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers¹⁹ were. ^11:17When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers²⁰ fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

^11:18Then Joab sent a full battle report to David.²¹^11:19He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish giving the battle report to the king, ^11:20if 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? ^11:21Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone²² 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.’ ”

^11:22So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. ^11:23The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and attacked us²³ in the field. But we forced them to retreat all the way²⁴ to the door of the city gate. ^11:24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king’s soldiers²⁵ died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” ^11:25David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you.²⁶ There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down.²⁷ Press the battle against the city and conquer²⁸ it.’ Encourage him with these words.”²⁹

^11:26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.³⁰^11:27When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace.³¹ She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord.³²

Nathan the Prophet Confronts David

^12:1So the Lord sent Nathan¹ to David. When he came to David,² Nathan³ said,⁴ “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. ^12:2The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. ^12:3But 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.⁵ It used to⁶ eat his food,⁷ drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms.⁸ It was just like a daughter to him.

^12:4“When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home,⁹ he did not want to use one of his own…

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Footnotes

1 2 Samuel 9–20 is known as the Succession Narrative. It is a literary unit that describes David’s efforts at consolidating his own kingdom following the demise of King Saul; it also provides the transition to subsequent leadership on the part of David’s successor Solomon.
2 Heb “house.”
3 Heb “your servant.”
4 Heb “house.”
5 Heb “sent and took him.”
6 Heb “from.”
7 Heb “he fell on his face and bowed down.”
8 Heb “Look, your servant.”
9 Heb “and you will eat food over my table continually.”
10 Heb “he”; the referent (Mephibosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 Heb “What is your servant, that you turn to a dead dog which is like me?”
12 Heb “work.”
13 The Hebrew text implies, but does not actually contain, the words “its produce” here.
14 The words “it will be,” though present in the , are absent from the , the , and .
15 Heb “and he will eat it.”
16 Heb “eating.”
17 Heb “my table.” But the first person reference to David is awkward here since the quotation of David’s words has already been concluded in v. 10; nor does the “my” refer to Ziba, since the latter part of v. 11 does not seem to be part of Ziba’s response to the king. The ancient versions are not unanimous in the way that they render the phrase. The has “the table of David” (τῆς τραπέζης Δαυιδ, tēs trapezēs Dauid); the has “the table of the king” (patureh demalka’); the has “your table” (mensam tuam). The present translation follows the .
18 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
1 Heb “reigned in his place.”
2 Heb “do loyalty.”
3 Heb “did loyalty.”
4 Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”
5 Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
6 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?”
7 Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto their buttocks.”
8 Heb “they”; the referent (the messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 The words “what had happened” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
11 Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”
12 Heb “the Ammonites.”
13 Or “Arameans of Beth Rehob and Arameans of Zobah.”
14 Or perhaps “the men of Tob.” The ancient versions (the , the , and ) understand the name to be “Ish-tob.” It is possible that “Ish” is dittographic and that we should read simply “,” a reading adopted by a number of recent English versions.
15 The words “the news” and “to meet them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
16 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.”
17 Heb “people.”
18 Heb “he arranged.”
19 Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”
21 Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”
22 Heb “and the Lord will do what is good in his eyes.”
23 Heb “and the army which was with him.”
24 Heb “and Joab returned from against the sons of Ammon and entered.”
25 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
26 Heb “were gathered together.”
27 Heb “and Hadadezer sent and brought out Aram which is.”
28 Heb “from beyond the River.” The name “Euphrates” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
29 Heb “was before them.”
30 The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
31 Heb “horsemen” (so , , , , ) but the Lucianic recension of the reads “foot soldiers,” as does the parallel text in 1 Chr 19:18. Cf. , .
32 Heb “the servants of Hadadezer.”
33 Heb “and they served them.”
1 Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which 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 and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammela’kim).
2 Heb “go out.”
3 Heb “and his servants with him.”
4 Heb “all Israel.”
5 The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity. For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
6 Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.
7 The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.
8 Heb “he”; the referent (the messenger) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”
10 Heb “he lay with her” (so , ); “he made love to her”; , , “he slept with her.”
11 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 (), . 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.
12 Heb “concerning the peace of Joab and concerning the peace of the people and concerning the peace of the battle.”
13 Heb “and wash your feet.”
14 Heb “and there went out after him the gift of the king.”
15 The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation lacks the word “all.”
16 Heb “and lay.”
17 Heb “as you live and as your soul lives.”
18 On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (), .
19 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.
20 Heb “some of the people from the servants of David.”
21 Heb “Joab sent and related to David all the matters of the battle.”
22 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.
23 Heb “and came out to us.”
24 Heb “but we were on them.”
25 The translation follows the Qere (“your servants”) rather than the Kethib (“your servant”).
26 Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”
27 Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”
28 Heb “overthrow.”
29 The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
30 Heb “for her lord.”
31 Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”
32 Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Note the verbal connection with v. 25. Though David did not regard the matter as evil, the Lord certainly did.
1 A few medieval Hebrew , the , and the add “the prophet.” The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., , , ).
2 Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”
5 Heb “his sons.”
6 The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.
7 Heb “from his morsel.”
8 Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”
9 Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.