Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
Parallel translations
- WEB David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned to her house.
- KJV And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
- BSB Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.
- NASB Then David sent messengers and had her brought, and when she came to him, he slept with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
- NLT Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.
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 sends for Bathsheba and commits adultery with her, after which she returns home. The king abuses his power to take another man's wife.
Overview
David's repeated 'sending' shows him using royal authority to seize what is not his, an echo of the warning that kings would 'take' (1 Samuel 8). The note about her purification confirms the resulting child is David's, not Uriah's. Faithful readers recognize the gross sin here while noting the power imbalance between a king and a subject.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Lev 18:19“‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.
- Jas 1:14–15But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
- Ps 51:1–19For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
- Prov 30:20“So is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
- Lev 12:2–5“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period she shall be unclean.
- Gen 39:7After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.”
- Job 31:9–11“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
- Lev 15:19–33“‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
- Ps 50:18When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.
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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 11:4 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.