2 Samuel 11:4

2 Samuel 11:4 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of 2 Samuel 11:4

2One evening, David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman who was washing herself. She was very beautiful. 3David sent a servant to ask who she was. The servant told him, ‘She is Eliam's daughter, Bathsheba. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent some servants to bring Bathsheba to him. She came to him and he slept with her. (She had just made herself clean from her monthly blood loss.) Then she returned to her home. 5Later, Bathsheba realized that she was pregnant. She sent a message to tell David about it. 6So David sent a message to Joab. He said, ‘Send Uriah the Hittite to me.’ So Joab sent Uriah to David.

2 Samuel 11:4 word by word

וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ דָּוִ֨ד מַלְאָכִ֜ים וַיִּקָּחֶ֗הָ וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלָיו֙ וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב עִמָּ֔הּ וְהִ֥יא מִתְקַדֶּ֖שֶׁת מִטֻּמְאָתָ֑הּ וַתָּ֖שָׁב אֶל־בֵּיתָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• messengersמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
• and tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• her; and she came inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• unto him, and he layשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• with her; for she was purifiedקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: consecateH6942
• from her uncleannessטֻמְאָהţûm'âh · uncleannessH2932
• and she returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• unto her houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 11:4

• Genesis 39:7After some time had passed, Potiphar's wife saw that Joseph was handsome. She said, ‘Come to bed with me!’
• Job 31:9I have not wanted to love any woman except my wife. I have not hidden outside my friend's house to wait for his wife to be alone.
• Psalms 50:18If you see a robber, you run to help him! You become friends with adulterers.
• Psalms 51:1Please forgive me, God, because of your faithful love. Because you are so kind, please clean away my sins.
• James 1:14It is our own thoughts that make us do bad things. When we want to do something wrong, our thoughts lead us in a bad way.
• Leviticus 12:2‘Say this to Israel's people. When a boy is born, his mother is not clean for seven days. When she is bleeding each month, the rule is the same. She is not clean.
• Leviticus 15:19A woman will bleed every month. She is unclean for seven days. A person might touch the woman when she is bleeding. That person will remain unclean until evening.
• Leviticus 18:19Do not have sex with a woman at the time when she bleeds each month. She is unclean during that time.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 11:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And she came in unto him - We hear nothing of her reluctance, and there is no evidence that she was taken by force.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4It is not clear whether Bathsheba came to David’s palace by her own choice. David was the king, and Bathsheba was a subject under his authority. This unequal power relationship means that she may not have been free to refuse his summons. The text does not record any protest from Bathsheba, unlike other passages where protest is clearly stated (compare 2 Samuel 13:12–13). Afterward, she married David, bore him another son, and later urged David to name…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. David sent messengers, and took her--The despotic kings of the East, when they take a fancy for a woman, send an officer to the house were she lives, who announces it to be the royal pleasure she should remove to the palace. An apartment is there assigned to her; and if she is made queen, the monarch orders the announcement to be made that he has made choice of her to be queen. Many instances in modern Oriental history show the ease and despatch with…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 11:4

• Adultery
• Bastard
• Bath-Sheba (Bathsheba)
• Covetousness
• David
• Defilement
• Instability
• Lasciviousness
• Purification
• Temptation
• Uriah
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• David
• Approach
• Bathsheba
• Samuel, Books of
• Uriah
• Ablution
• Bible, the
• Gentiles
• Hittites
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings