2 Samuel 11:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then 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."

NIV: Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."

NASB: Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'

CSB: However, the archers shot down on your servants from the top of the wall, and some of the king’s servants died. Your servant Uriah the Hethite is also dead."

NLT: the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.'

KJV: And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

NKJV: The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”

Joab's messenger has arrived at David's house with news from the front line of Israel's battle with the Ammonites. He's reporting what Joab has told him to say, including the fact that some of the Ammonites broke free from the siege of the city in a sudden attack against the Israelites. Then the Israelites pushed them back into the city through the gate (2 Samuel 11:23).

The servant concludes the report by saying that as the Israelite fighters moved close to the wall, archers shot down and killed some of them, including Uriah the Hittite. Joab had instructed the messenger to wait to mention Uriah until the king was furious and needed to be calmed down. Instead, the messenger delivers the last line immediately, perhaps hoping to keep the king from getting angry with him in the first place (2 Samuel 11:19–21).

David responds calmly. He doesn't seem upset that several of his soldiers, including a valued general, died by foolishly coming close to the wall and the archers. He tells the messenger to encourage Joab to complete the work and overthrow the city (2 Samuel 11:25).

David planned for Uriah's death. He had sent a message with Uriah telling Joab to put Uriah in the fiercest fighting and then withdraw so the Ammonites would kill him (2 Samuel 11:15). Now that the great warrior is dead, David can marry his widow and hide the fact that, weeks before, David had already gotten her pregnant (2 Samuel 11:2–5). Neither the messenger nor Joab knows David's reasons, but God does, and the Lord is not pleased (2 Samuel 12).

In 2 Samuel 11:22–27, David learns his plan worked. While the army was off at war against the Ammonites, David slept with one of his generals' wives and got her pregnant. To cover up his sin, David ordered Uriah home, so he'd sleep with his wife and think the baby was his. When that didn't work, David ordered his commander, Joab, to have Uriah killed in battle (2 Samuel 11:1–21). Now, David learns his plan worked. He can marry Bathsheba and claim his son. What David doesn't plan for is that God sees all and demands justice (2 Samuel 12).

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.

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.