... in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, ... David remained at Jerusalem.

... one evening ... David ... walked on the roof of the king's house. And ... saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.... "... Bathsheba, ... the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her ... And the woman conceived ...

In the morning ... David wrote a letter to Joab {the commander of the army} and sent it by the hand of Uriah.... "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die."... and Uriah the Hittite died ....

And when [Bathsheba's tine of] mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

And the LORD struck the child ... and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.... Then on the seventh day ... the child died.

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and ... he ate....

And [David] said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and ... lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon {lit: "peaceful," also called Jedidiah - "loved of the Lord"}. (2 Sam 11:1-5, 14-16,27; 12:13,15-18,20, 22-24, NKJV)

When David should have been going out with his troops into battle, he stayed behind and was tempted when he saw a beautiful woman bathing near his castle. Even though Bathsheba was the wife of a famous soldier, Uriah the Hittite, she apparently had no problem committing adultery with King David. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David sent for her husband, Uriah, in an effort to cover his sin.

Because Uriah was a man of great personal integrity, he refused to have intimate relations with his own wife, out of respect to his fellow soldiers, who could not enjoy similar privileges. Since David was unable to cover his sin, he made sure that Uriah would die in battle, a murder by proxy that could not be physically traced to him. However, nothing is hidden from the Lord, so the prophet Nathan confronted David, and David admitted his sin. However, even though David had repented, the child became very sick and died as a consequence of David's sin.

David had spent seven days lying on the ground, fasting, and praying, but when the child died, he rose from the floor, bathed, anointed himself with oil, changed his clothes, and then went to the tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. Afterward, he went to his own home and ate. When the servants inquired about his behavior, David explained that when the child was alive, there was a chance that the Lord would acquiesce to his pleas for mercy, but since the child had died, there was no longer a need to continue.

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