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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Afterward she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him.
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David then sent a message to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David.
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When Uriah arrived, David asked him if Joab and the troops were well, and how the fighting was going.
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Then he said to Uriah, "Go on home and rest a while." Uriah left, and David had a present sent to his home.
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But Uriah did not go home; instead he slept at the palace gate with the king's guards.
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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?"
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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!"
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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.
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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.
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The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah.
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He wrote: "Put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed."
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So while Joab was besieging the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy was strong.
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The enemy troops came out of the city and fought Joab's forces; some of David's officers were killed, and so was Uriah.
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Then Joab sent a report to David telling him about the battle,
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and he instructed the messenger, "After you have told the king all about the battle,
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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?
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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.' "
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So the messenger went to David and told him what Joab had commanded him to say.
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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.
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Then they shot arrows at us from the wall, and some of Your Majesty's officers were killed; your officer Uriah was also killed."
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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."
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When Bathsheba heard that her husband had been killed, she mourned for him.
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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.
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The LORD sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, "There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor.
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The rich man had many cattle and sheep,
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while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him.
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One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal for his guest."
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David became very angry at the rich man and said, "I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die!
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For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took."
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"You are that man," Nathan said to David. "And this is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.
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I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much.
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Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife!
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Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife.
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I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight.
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You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.' "
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"I have sinned against the LORD," David said. Nathan replied, "The LORD forgives you; you will not die.
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But because you have shown such contempt for the LORD in doing this, your child will die."
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Then Nathan went home. The LORD caused the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David to become very sick.
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David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor.
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His court officials went to him and tried to make him get up, but he refused and would not eat anything with them.
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A week later the child died, and David's officials were afraid to tell him the news. They said, "While the child was living, David wouldn't answer us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!"
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When David noticed them whispering to each other, he realized that the child had died. So he asked them, "Is the child dead?" "Yes, he is," they answered.
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David got up from the floor, took a bath, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. Then he went and worshiped in the house of the LORD. When he returned to the palace, he asked for food and ate it as soon as it was served.
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"We don't understand this," his officials said to him. "While the child was alive, you wept for him and would not eat; but as soon as he died, you got up and ate!"
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"Yes," David answered, "I did fast and weep while he was still alive. I thought that the LORD might be merciful to me and not let the child die.
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But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Could I bring the child back to life? I will some day go to where he is, but he can never come back to me."
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Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He had intercourse with her, and she bore a son, whom David named Solomon. The LORD loved the boy
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and commanded the prophet Nathan to name the boy Jedidiah, because the LORD loved him.
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Meanwhile Joab continued his campaign against Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, and was about to capture it.
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He sent messengers to David to report: "I have attacked Rabbah and have captured its water supply.
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Now gather the rest of your forces, attack the city and take it yourself. I don't want to get the credit for capturing it."
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So David gathered his forces, went to Rabbah, attacked it, and conquered it.
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From the head of the idol of the Ammonite god Molech David took a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds and had a jewel in it. David took the jewel and put it in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city
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and put its people to work with saws, iron hoes, and iron axes, and forced them to work at making bricks. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.
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Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love. Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins!
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Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin!
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I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins.
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I have sinned against you---only against you--- and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.
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I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.
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Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom.
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Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
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Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; and though you have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again.
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Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil.
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Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
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Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.
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Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
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Then I will teach sinners your commands, and they will turn back to you.
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Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.
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Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise you.
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You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings.
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My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.
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O God, be kind to Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
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Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices and with our burnt offerings; and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.
1
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples.
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"The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law.
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So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach.
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They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads.
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They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!
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They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues;
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they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them 'Teacher.'
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You must not be called 'Teacher,' because you are all equal and have only one Teacher.
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And you must not call anyone here on earth 'Father,' because you have only the one Father in heaven.
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Nor should you be called 'Leader,' because your one and only leader is the Messiah.
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The greatest one among you must be your servant.
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Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter!
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!
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"How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, 'If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'
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Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy?
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You also teach, 'If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.'
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How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy?
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So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it;
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and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there;
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and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.
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Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness.
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Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.
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In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.
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"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives;
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and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets.
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So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets!
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Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started!
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You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?
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And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town.
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As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.
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I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day!
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"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!
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And so your Temple will be abandoned and empty.
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From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, 'God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.' "
