2 Samuel 11:27

11:27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. ¹  She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord. ² 

2 Samuel 11:1

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ³  normally conduct wars, ⁴  David sent out Joab with his officers ⁵  and the entire Israelite army. ⁶  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 15:5

15:5 When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom ⁸  would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him.

¹ tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”

² tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Note the verbal connection with v. 25. Though David did not regard the matter as evil, the Lord certainly did.

³ tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאכִים, hammal’khim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammela’kim).

⁴ tn Heb “go out.”

⁵ tn Heb “and his servants with him.”

⁶ tn Heb “all Israel.”

⁷ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.

⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.