Limitless Word
And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2 Samuel 11:14 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
  • BSB The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
  • NKJV In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
  • NASB So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
  • NLT So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

David writes Joab a letter and sends it by Uriah's own hand. The victim unknowingly carries his own death sentence.

Overview

Unable to hide the sin, David resolves to remove Uriah by arranging his death. The chilling detail that Uriah delivers his own death warrant underscores his innocence and David's treachery. Adultery has now hardened into premeditated murder.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Jer 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
  • 1 Kgs 21:8–10So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
  • Jer 9:1–4Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
  • Ps 52:2Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
  • Ps 19:13Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
  • Mic 7:3–5That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
  • Ps 62:9Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Samuel 11:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.

How 2 Samuel 11:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.