2 Samuel 11:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."

NIV: The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

NASB: But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, 'I am pregnant.'

CSB: The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: "I am pregnant."

NLT: Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, 'I’m pregnant.'

KJV: And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

NKJV: And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

King David was motivated by lust for Uriah's wife after seeing her bathing. So, he uses his absolute power as the king to summon her to his house and to sleep with her. He has broken God's command not to commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), violated the trust and respect of one of his own generals, and taken advantage of a woman under his kingship.

David saw Bathsheba when she was performing a Mikveh: a ceremonial washing to restore cleanness after menstruating (Leviticus 15:28). One of God's primary promises in the Mosaic Covenant is that if His people obey Him, they will be fertile (Deuteronomy 28:1–4). The law states that a woman must wait seven days after she stops bleeding, bathe, and offer a sacrifice, and then she will be clean and able to have sex with her husband (Leviticus 15:28–30). By waiting that seven days, couples would have sex when they were most likely to become pregnant.

Now, Bathsheba is pregnant with David's baby. It's obviously not Uriah's child since she just ended her period and he's on the battlefield. So, she tells David.

David's response is an attempted cover-up. He invites Uriah back to Jerusalem, believing Uriah will have sex with his wife, so David can pretend the baby isn't his. But Uriah follows David's custom of not having sex during a war (1 Samuel 21:5). So, David has Uriah killed in battle and marries Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:6–27).

David thinks his deception is enough. He forgets that God knows everything (2 Samuel 12).

Second Samuel 11:1–5 describes David's sin against Bathsheba. Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, is at war against the Ammonites with Joab and Israel's army. David sees Bathsheba bathing from the uncleanness of her menstruation and has her brought to him. He has sex with her, and she becomes pregnant. To hide his sin, David first tries to trick Uriah into sleeping with his wife. When Uriah refuses, David has Uriah murdered (2 Samuel 11:6–25). We aren't told the story from Bathsheba's point of view, but the text never faults her or condemns her of sin. First Chronicles 20:1 describes the battle.

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.