2 Samuel 11 · Verse 4

2 Samuel 11:4

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.
2 Samuel 11:4, King James Version

2 Samuel 11:4 in other translations

BSBThen 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.
WEBDavid 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.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her--and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness--and she turneth back unto her house;
DARBYAnd David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; and she had purified herself from her uncleanness; and she returned to her house.
BBEAnd David sent and took her; and she came to him, and he took her to his bed: (for she had been made clean;) then she went back to her house.
WebsterAnd 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.

What does 2 Samuel 11:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. 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 which such secondary marriages are contracted, and a new beauty added to the royal seraglio. But David had to make a promise, or rather an express stipulation, to Bath-sheba, before she complied with the royal will (1Ki 1:13, 15, 17, 28); for in addition to her transcendent beauty, she appears to have been a woman of superior talents and address in obtaining the object of her ambition; in her securing that her son should succeed on the throne; in her promptitude to give notice of her pregnancy; in her activity in defeating Adonijah's natural expectation of succeeding to the crown; in her dignity as the king's mother--in all this we see very strong indications of the ascendency she gained and maintained over David, who, perhaps, had ample leisure and opportunity to discover the punishment of this unhappy connection in more ways than one [Taylor, Calmet].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 And she came in unto him - We hear nothing of her reluctance, and there is no evidence that she was taken by force.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 11:1-5

Observe the occasions of David's sin; what led to it. 1. Neglect of his business. He tarried at Jerusalem. When we are out of the way of our duty, we are in temptation. 2. Love of ease: idleness gives great advantage to the tempter. 3. A wandering eye. He had not, like Job, made a covenant with his eyes, or, at this time, he had forgotten it. And observe the steps of the sin. See how the way of sin is down-hill…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 11:1-5 →

2 Samuel 11:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּשְׁלַח֩vai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971
דָּוִ֨דda.VidDavidH1732
מַלְאָכִ֜יםmal.'a.KhimmessengersH4397
וַיִּקָּחֶ֗הָvai.yi.ka.Che.haand he took herH3947
וַתָּב֤וֹאva.ta.Vo'and she cameH935
אֵלָיו֙'e.Lavto himH413
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣בvai.yish.Kavand he layH7901
עִמָּ֔הּ'i.Mahwith herH5973
וְהִ֥יאve.Hi'and sheH1931
מִתְקַדֶּ֖שֶׁתmit.ka.De.shet[was] purifying herselfH6942
מִטֻּמְאָתָ֑הּmi.tum.'a.Tahfrom uncleanness herH2932
וַתָּ֖שָׁבva.Ta.shovand she returnedH7725
אֶל\־'el-toH413
בֵּיתָֽהּ\׃bei.Tahhouse herH1004

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 11:4

  • Leviticus 18:19

    Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

  • James 1:14-15

    But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  • Psalms 51:1-19

    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath–sheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. …

  • Proverbs 30:20

    Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

  • Leviticus 12:2-5

    Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

  • Psalms 50:18

    When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

  • Genesis 39:7

    And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

  • Leviticus 15:19-33

    And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. …

  • Job 31:9-11

    If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
sent messengers.
Ge 39:7; Job 31:9-11; Ps 50:18
he lay.
Ps 51:1; *title
Jas 1:14,15
she was, etc. or, and when she had purified herself, etc.,she returned.
Pr 30:20
purified.
Le 12:2-5; 15:19-28,29-33; 18:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 11:3

    And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath–sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

  • 2 Samuel 11:4

    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.

  • 2 Samuel 11:5

    And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

Read all of 2 Samuel 11

2 Samuel 11:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y envió David mensajeros, y tomóla: y así que hubo entrado á él, él durmió con ella. Purificóse luego ella de su inmundicia, y se volvió á su casa.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et David envoya des messagers, et la prit; et elle vint vers lui, et il coucha avec elle (et elle se purifia de son impureté); et elle s’en retourna dans sa maison.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und David sandte Boten hin und ließ sie holen; und sie kam zu ihm, und er lag bei ihr; und sie kehrte in ihr Haus zurück.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Missis itaque David nuntiis, tulit eam: quæ cum ingressa esset ad illum, dormivit cum ea: statimque sanctificata est ab immunditia sua,