most mss. read “Aram.”
9The king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I give to your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire family. 10You and your sons and your slaves shall farm the land for him and shall bring in [its yield] to provide food for your master’s grandsonc to live on; but Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall always eat at my table.”—Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.—11Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do just as my lord the king has commanded him.” d-“Mephibosheth shall eat at my table-d like one of the king’s sons.”
12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica; and all the members of Ziba’s household worked for Mephibosheth. 13Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate regularly at the king’s table. He was lame in both feet.
10 aSome time afterward, the king of Ammon died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2David said, “I will keep faith with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father kept faith with me.” He sent his courtiers with a message of condolence to him over his father. But when David’s courtiers came to the land of Ammon, 3the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you think David is really honoring your father just because he sent you men with condolences? Why, David has sent his courtiers to you to explore and spy out the city, and to overthrowb it.” 4So Hanun seized David’s courtiers, clipped off one side of their beards and cut away half of their garments at the buttocks, and sent them off. 5When David was told of it, he dispatched men to meet them, for the men were greatly embarrassed. And the king gave orders: “Stop in Jericho until your beards grow back; then you can return.”
6The Ammonites realized that they had c-incurred the wrath of-c David; so the Ammonites sent agents and hired Arameans of Beth-rehob and Arameans of Zobah—20,000 foot soldiers—the king of Maacah [with] 1,000 men, and 12,000 men from Tob. 7On learning this, David sent out Joab and the whole army—[including] the professional fighters. 8The Ammonites marched out and took up their battle position at the entrance of the gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah took their stand separately in the open. 9Joab saw that there was a battle line against him both front and rear. So he made a selection from all the picked men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans, 10and the rest of the troops he put under the command of his brother Abishaid and arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11[Joab] said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, you come to my aid; and if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I will come to your aid. 12Let us be strong and resolute for the sake of our people and the lande of our God; and the LORD will do what He deems right.”
13Joab and the troops with him marched into battle against the Arameans, who fled before him. 14And when the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they fled before Abishai and withdrew into the city. So Joab broke off the attack against the Ammonites, and went to Jerusalem.
15When the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped their forces. 16Hadadezerf sent for and brought out the Arameans from across the Euphrates; they came to Helam, led by Shobach, Hadadezer’sf army commander. 17David was informed of it; he assembled all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans drew up their forces against David and attacked him; 18but the Arameans were put to flight by Israel. David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 horsemen;g he also struck down Shobach, Hadadezer’sh army commander, who died there. 19And when all the vassal kings of Hadadezerf saw that they had been routed by Israel, they submitted to Israel and became their vassals. And the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
11 At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him, and they devastated Ammon and besieged Rabbah; David remained in Jerusalem. 2Late one afternoon, David rose from his couch and strolled on the roof of the royal palace; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and the king sent someone to make inquiries about the woman. He reported, “She is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam [and] wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4David sent messengers to fetch her; she came to him and he lay with her—she had just purified herself after her period— and she went back home. 5The woman conceived, and she sent word to David, “I am pregnant.” 6Thereupon David sent a message to Joab, “Send Uriah the Hittite to me”; and Joab sent Uriah to David.
7When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab and the troops were faring and how the war was going. 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” When Uriah left the royal palace, a present from the king followed him. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace, along with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10When David was told that Uriah had not gone down to his house, he said to Uriah, “You just came from a journey; why didn’t you go down to your house?” 11Uriah answered David, “The Ark and Israel and Judah are located at Succoth, and my master Joab and Your Majesty’s men are camped in the open; how can I go home and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? a-As you live, by your very life,-a I will not do this!” 12David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you off.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. The next day, 13David summoned him, and he ate and drank with him until he got him drunk; but in the evening, [Uriah] went out to sleep in the same place, with his lord’s officers; he did not go down to his home.
14In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, which he sent with Uriah. 15He wrote in the letter as follows: “Place Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest; then fall back so that he may be killed.” 16So when Joab was besieging the city, he stationed Uriah at the point where he knew that there were able warriors. 17The men of the city sallied out and attacked Joab, and some of David’s officers among the troops fell; Uriah the Hittite was among those who died.
18Joab sent a full report of the battle to David. 19He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish reporting to the king all about the battle, 20the king may get angry and say to you, ‘Why did you come so close to the city to attack it? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall? 21Who struck down Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth?b Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall at Thebez, from which he died? Why did you come so close to the wall?’ Then say: ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite was among those killed.’ ”
22The messenger set out; he came and told David all that Joab had sent him to say.c 23The messenger said to David, “First the men prevailed against us and sallied out against us into the open; then we drove them back up to the entrance to the gate. 24But the archers shot at your men from the wall and some of Your Majesty’s men fell; your servant Uriah the Hittite also fell.” 25Whereupon David said to the messenger, “Give Joab this message: ‘Do not be distressed about the matter. The sword d-always takes its toll.-d Press your attack on the city and destroy it!’ Encourage him!”
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27After the period of mourning was over, David sent and had her brought into his palace; she became his wife and she bore him a son.
12 But the LORD was displeased with what David had done, 1and the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich and one poor. 2The rich man had very large flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He tended it and it grew up together with him and his children: it used to share his morsel of bread, drink
