David's Sin with Bathsheba

While his army besieged Rabbah, King David remained in Jerusalem. From his roof he saw Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, bathing. He summoned her and lay with her; she conceived.

To conceal his adultery, David recalled Uriah from battle and urged him to go home to his wife. When the loyal soldier refused comfort while his comrades fought, David sent him back with sealed orders to his commander: place Uriah in the fiercest fighting and withdraw, leaving him to die.

After Uriah’s death, David married Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan confronted David with a parable, pronouncing God’s judgment: “The sword shall never depart from your house.” The child of adultery died, though Bathsheba later bore Solomon.