2 Samuel 9–20

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

⁹David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”^{* 2}Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!”^{* 3}The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”^{* 4}The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”^{* 5}Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.”^{* 7}David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.”^{* 8}He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”^*

⁹Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.^{* 10}You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat, but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.^{* 11}Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s^r table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.^{* 13}Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.^*

The Ammonites and Arameans Are Defeated

¹⁰Some time afterward, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him.^{* 2}David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent envoys to console him concerning his father. When David’s envoys came into the land of the Ammonites, ³the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” ⁴So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their waists, and sent them away.^{* 5}When David was told, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

⁶When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.^{* 7}When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the warriors. ⁸The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.^*

⁹When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans; ¹⁰the rest of the troops he put in the charge of his brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ¹²Be strong, and let us be courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.”^{* 13}So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him.^{* 14}When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵But when the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.^{* 17}When it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. ¹⁸The Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams and forty thousand horsemen and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.^{* 19}When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.^*

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

¹¹In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.^*

²It happened, late one afternoon when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.^{* 3}David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”^{* 4}So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.^{* 5}The woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”^*

⁶So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared and how the war was going. ⁸Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.^{* 9}But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths,^s and my lord Joab and the 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? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.”^{* 12}Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day,^{t 13}David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk, and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.^*

David Has Uriah Killed

¹⁴In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.^{* 15}In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”^{* 16}As Joab kept watch over the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. ¹⁷The men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.^{* 18}Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting, ¹⁹and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, ²⁰if the king’s anger rises and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal?^u Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead, too.’ ”^*

²²So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. ²⁴Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” ²⁵David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

²⁶When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him.^{* 27}When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.

Nathan Condemns David

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,^*

¹²and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.^{* 2}The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare and drink from his cup and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” ⁵Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan,…