2 Samuel 11:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?"

NIV: David was told, "Uriah did not go home." So he asked Uriah, "Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?"

NASB: Now when they informed David, saying, 'Uriah did not go down to his house,' David said to Uriah, 'Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?'

CSB: When it was reported to David, "Uriah didn’t go home," David questioned Uriah, "Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?"

NLT: When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, 'What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?'

KJV: And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

NKJV: So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

David may have gone to bed thinking that he had cleverly solved his problem. He created a crisis when he impulsively slept with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, and made her pregnant (2 Samuel 11:1–5). If the truth comes out, all three of them will suffer terribly. If he and Bathsheba can convince Uriah that he is the child's father, they will carry the secret, but the political disaster crisis will be averted.

Uriah has been fighting against the Ammonites with the Israelite army. David called him back to Jerusalem to give a report of the battle. It's unusual for the king to request a general instead of a messenger, but Uriah comes. Once Uriah gives his report, David sends him home.

David wakes up to learn that the problem remains. Uriah's loyalty and integrity are unshakeable. Instead of going home to his wife, Uriah slept in the barracks with David's servants. Uriah did not have sex with Bathsheba, and David can't pretend the baby is Uriah's.

David calls to see Uriah again and asks him why he didn't go home. Uriah's answer will show that he has more integrity than the king himself has demonstrated. Since David's service to King Saul, he has made it a point to refrain from sex while on a mission. He mentioned this to the priest Ahimelech that he and his men keep their "vessels holy" when on an expedition (1 Samuel 21:1–5). His genealogies seem to affirm this. In the time he was married to Michal, she never gave birth. And although he was married to Ahinoam and Abigail when he was running from Saul, they didn't have children until they were all settled in Hebron when David became king of Judah (1 Samuel 25:42–43; 2 Samuel 2:30:2–5).

As one of David's mightiest warriors, it's not surprising Uriah keeps this tradition, although it is inconvenient for David.

In 2 Samuel 11:6–13, David plans a cover-up. While Uriah the Hittite was fighting the Ammonites at David's command, David slept with Uriah's wife Bathsheba. Now, Bathsheba is pregnant, and there's no way to pretend Uriah is the father. David recalls Uriah from the front line, thinking Uriah will visit home and have sex with his wife. Thinking about his comrades, sleeping in tents, Uriah refuses. So, David takes things a step further. He sends Uriah back with orders for Joab to arrange for Uriah's death in battle (2 Samuel 11:14–15).

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits grievous sins. Joab and the Israelite army, including the warrior Uriah, are finishing the battle against the Ammonites. Back in Jerusalem, David takes notice of Uriah's wife and impregnates her. When she informs David of the pregnancy, David recalls Uriah. The king expects the soldier to sleep with his wife and claim the child. Uriah's intense loyalty and integrity prevent him from even visiting his house while the others are still at war. David tells Joab to have Uriah killed in battle. God sends Nathan to confront David. David sincerely repents, but God takes the child (2 Samuel 12).

Second Samuel 11 begins the account of David's greatest sins. David sleeps with and impregnates a soldier's wife, Bathsheba. To hide his sin, David has the soldier killed in battle. God tells Nathan to rebuke David, and David repents fully. But God still takes the life of the baby boy (2 Samuel 12; Psalm 51). The story reveals two things about God. First, He is willing to restore His relationship with us when we repent from even the most horrible sin. And second, He has no interest in shaming vulnerable victims of powerful people.