2 Samuel 11:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king 's house, and there followed him a present from the king.

NIV: Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.

NASB: Then David said to Uriah, 'Go down to your house, and wash your feet.' So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent after him.

CSB: Then he said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.

NLT: Then he told Uriah, 'Go on home and relax. ' David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace.

KJV: And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

NKJV: And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.

David's plan to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba seems foolproof on the surface. He will bring her husband home from the war under the guise of wanting a firsthand account from a trusted general about how the battle is going (2 Samuel 11:6–7). He will honor the man and send him home for a night, where he will sleep with his wife. Then everyone, including Uriah, will think he's the father of the child she already carries. Crisis averted.

David hears Uriah's report and sends him down to his house. Commentators understand David's instruction to Uriah to "wash your feet" to be a general encouragement to the man to relax, clean himself up from the battlefield, and enjoy an evening at home. The text adds that David sends a gift for Uriah, as well. Though the gift is not described, it's clear that David tries to make it appear that he is honoring his loyal general for his faithful service.

It's Uriah's loyalty that foils David's plan. David has trained his men to not have sex during war (1 Samuel 21:5). Uriah thinks about his fellow soldiers sleeping on the ground and can't bear to relax in his own home. He sleeps at the door of David's house. David tries again, this time, getting him drunk. Uriah still refuses (2 Samuel 11:9–13).

So, David resorts to murder (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.

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.