2 Samuel 11:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he 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.

NIV: At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

NASB: Now David summoned Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he made Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, and he still did not go down to his house.

CSB: Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.

NLT: Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

KJV: And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

NKJV: Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

The previous year, the new king of the Ammonites made a terrible judgment call that dishonored the Israelites. Naturally, David responded with force. The Ammonites fled to one of their most fortified cities (2 Samuel 10:1–14). It's now the next spring, and David has sent Joab and the army to take care of the nuisance while David attends to his kingly duties (2 Samuel 11:1).

While the army is gone, David takes notice of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his greatest warriors, and sleeps with her. She becomes pregnant. Attempting to hide his sin, David calls Uriah home and tempts the man to sleep with his wife and assume the child is his (2 Samuel 11:2–8).

Uriah refuses to go home and have sex with his wife. He has a deeply held conviction that doing so would be unfair to his fellow soldiers. It would also make him ceremonially unclean for battle before the Lord. David tries again, first getting Uriah all the wine he can drink. David hopes a drunk Uriah will forget his commitment to his integrity and go home to sleep with his wife (2 Samuel 11:9–12; 1 Samuel 21:5).

This marks another step lower for David in this sinful episode. Uriah has been a valued servant and warrior for David because of his integrity and honor, but now the king is attempting to get a man to violate his conscience in hopes of covering up his own sin. Many of us have experienced something similar, urging others to do what is wrong to help us feel better about our sinful choices.

It doesn't work. Though drunk, Uriah simply goes back to the guard barracks and passes out on his couch. David will need to go even deeper into sin to try to make this cover-up work. He sends a note with Uriah for Joab, the army commander. Joab is to send Uriah to the base of the city wall, then pull the army away from him so the Ammonites will kill him. Sadly, David's plan works (2 Samuel 11:14–17).

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.