2 Samuel 11 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
2 Samuel 11
The king’s sin beneath the call to repentance
Augustine explicitly connects this narrative with Psalm 51 and calls hearers to acknowledge David’s sin and seek amendment [S2, §§2–5]. This is attributed Christian reception.
11:1–5 | The campaign, Bathsheba, and the pregnancy
Verse MT 11:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:1
At the return of the year, when kings go out, David sent Joab, his servants with him, and all Israel. They devastated the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:1
At the return of the year, at the time of the kings’ expedition, David sent Joab, his servants with him, and all Israel. They devastated the sons of Ammon and laid siege to Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Hebrew’s unusual written form malakhim is rendered kings in the military context, as also understood in the checked Jewish presentation [Q11; R11]; no formal qere is claimed here. Greek expressly gives kings. Both contrast the expedition with David remaining in Jerusalem.
Verse MT 11:2 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:2
One evening David rose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:2
Toward evening David rose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both describe David’s vantage on the roof and the woman’s appearance. The woman’s precise location and intentions are not supplied; the text does not say she was trying to attract him.
Verse MT 11:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:3
David sent and inquired about the woman. It was said, “Is this not Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:3
David sent and sought the woman. It was said, “Is this not Bathsheba daughter of Eliab, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The father is Eliam in Hebrew and Eliab in Greek. Greek’s seeking verb differs in emphasis from Hebrew’s inquiry. The brief identification has no separately named speaker; both explicitly identify Uriah as her husband before David acts.
Verse MT 11:4 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:4
David sent messengers and took her. She came to him, and he lay with her. She was purifying herself from her impurity, and she returned to her house.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:4
David sent messengers and took her. She came to him, and he lay with her. She was purifying herself from her impurity, and she returned to her house.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both retain David’s sending and taking, her arrival, and his lying with her. The purification clause is circumstantial, not an added judgment on her character or an explicit sequence after intercourse.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 11:4 identifies the impurity as menstrual [R11].
Saints: Augustine insists that David’s adultery and his arranging the husband’s death must be acknowledged because Scripture records them. David’s ancestry in relation to Christ does not excuse the wrongdoing [S2, Exposition on Psalm 51, §2].
Verse MT 11:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:5
The woman conceived. She sent word to David and said, “I am pregnant.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:5
The woman conceived. She sent word and reported to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The conception and her message agree. The pregnancy idioms are rendered naturally without adding a gestational interval.
11:6–13 | Uriah recalled and David’s attempts
Verse MT 11:6 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:6
David sent to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:6
David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The command and compliance agree. The purpose of recalling Uriah is not added to the spoken command.
Verse MT 11:7 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:7
Uriah came to him, and David asked about Joab’s welfare, the people’s welfare, and the welfare of the war.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:7
Uriah arrived and came in to him, and David asked about Joab’s welfare, the people’s welfare, and the welfare of the war.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek expands the arrival slightly. Both repeat the welfare or peace term three times, including the deliberately unusual expression about the war.
Verse MT 11:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:8
David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah left the king’s house, and a portion from the king went out after him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:8
David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah left the king’s house, and a portion from the king went out after him.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The direction and royal provision correspond. The portion terms do not themselves name a menu. Wash your feet is retained rather than replaced with an inferred sexual instruction.
Verse MT 11:9 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:9
Uriah lay down at the entrance of the king’s house with all his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his house.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:9
Uriah lay down by the king’s door with his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his house.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew explicitly says house and all the servants; Greek has the king’s door and the servants. The refusal to go home agrees.
Verse MT 11:10 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:10
David was told, “Uriah did not go down to his house.” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:10
David was told, “Uriah did not go down to his house.” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The report and repeated question agree. The Greek question continues across a paragraph break in the publisher’s presentation and is retained within this verse.
Verse MT 11:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:11
Uriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are staying in booths. My lord Joab and my lord’s servants are camping in the open field. Shall I go to my house to eat, drink, and lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:11
Uriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are staying in tents. My lord Joab and my lord’s servants are camping in the open field. Shall I go to my house to eat, drink, and lie with my wife? How could I? As your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew gives booths and a double life oath; Greek tents, the separate question How?, and one life oath. Both retain Uriah’s reference to lying with his wife and his refusal. The negative force of the oath’s if clause is made explicit in English.
Verse MT 11:12 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:12
David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you away.” Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:12
David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you away.” Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The extension of the stay and its duration agree. Tomorrow is not moved to create an unrecorded extra day.
Verse MT 11:13 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:13
David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and David made him drunk. In the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:13
David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and David made him drunk. In the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both expressly make David the agent of Uriah’s drunkenness and retain Uriah’s continued refusal to go home. David’s name clarifies the otherwise shifting pronouns without changing the agent.
Concealment, killing, and the judgment of God
Continuation of Augustine’s penitential reading [S2]. His exposition does not erase the narrative’s harm to Bathsheba, Uriah, or the other soldiers.
11:14–21 | The letter and the fatal deployment
Verse MT 11:14 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:14
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah’s hand.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:14
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah’s hand.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both make Uriah the carrier of the letter concerning his own death. No claim that he read or knew its contents is inserted.
Verse MT 11:15 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:15
He wrote in the letter, “Place Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle, and withdraw from behind him, so that he is struck and dies.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:15
He wrote in the letter, “Bring Uriah to face the fiercest battle, and you shall withdraw from behind him, and he will be struck and die.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew begins with a plural command; Greek a singular one followed by plural withdrawal. Both make Uriah’s death the intended result.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 11:15, citing Shabbat 56a, invokes soldiers’ conditional divorces as a later legal interpretation [R11]; this does not replace the narrative’s wording or its condemnation of David.
Verse MT 11:16 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:16
As Joab kept watch over the city, he placed Uriah where he knew there were valiant men.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:16
As Joab kept watch over the city, he placed Uriah where he knew there were powerful men.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The deliberate placement in a dangerous sector agrees. Valiant / powerful describes the opposing fighters’ strength without adding a named unit.
Verse MT 11:17 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:17
The city’s men came out and fought Joab. Some of the people, David’s servants, fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:17
The city’s men came out and fought Joab. Some of the people, David’s servants, fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both retain the deaths of other servants as well as Uriah. The report is not narrowed to a single casualty.
Verse MT 11:18 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:18
Joab sent and reported to David all the matters of the battle.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:18
Joab sent and reported to the king all the matters of the battle,
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek uses the king where Hebrew names David and continues into verse 19. The report’s stated scope agrees.
Verse MT 11:19 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:19
He instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the matters of the battle,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:19
and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the matters of the battle,
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both introduce Joab’s instructions for the messenger’s anticipated conversation with David.
Verse MT 11:20 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:20
if the king’s anger rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot from the wall?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:20
if the king’s anger rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot arrows from above the wall?
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek explicitly identifies arrow-shooting; Hebrew’s shooting verb is understood in the same military context. Both present the anger as Joab’s anticipated response at this point.
Verse MT 11:21 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:21
Who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw a piece of an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:21
Who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw a fragment of a millstone on him from above the wall, so that he died at Thamasi? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The father’s name is Jerubbesheth / Jerubbaal, and the place Thebez / Thamasi. Hebrew also specifies the upper millstone. The allusion to Abimelech’s death is preserved with each source’s names, rather than silently conformed to Judges 9.
11:22–27 | The report, the marriage, and the divine verdict
Verse MT 11:22 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:22
The messenger went, came to David, and reported everything Joab had sent him to say.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:22
Joab’s messenger went to the king in Jerusalem, arrived, and reported to David everything Joab had told him, all the matters of the battle. David became angry with Joab and said to the messenger, “Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know you would be struck from the wall? Who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw a fragment of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thamasi? Why did you go so near the wall?”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds the Jerusalem destination, fuller report language, and David’s actual anger and extended rebuke. Hebrew records no such speech here. The Greek expansion echoes but does not exactly duplicate the earlier prediction: here the men would be struck, rather than the defenders shooting.
Verse MT 11:23 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:23
The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field. We pressed them as far as the gate’s entrance.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:23
The messenger said to David, “The men grew strong against us and came out against us in the field. We pressed them as far as the gate’s entrance,
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The opposing advance and counterpressure to the gate agree in substance. Pressed them renders the compressed we were upon them idiom without adding another location.
Verse MT 11:24 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:24
The archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:24
and the archers shot at your servants from above the wall. Some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both report shooting, the servants’ deaths, and Uriah’s death. Hebrew’s unusual written shooting forms are rendered by their clear martial sense, also explicit in Greek [Q11].
Verse MT 11:25 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:25
David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab this: ‘Do not regard this matter as evil, for the sword devours in one way or another. Strengthen your battle against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:25
David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab this: ‘Do not regard this matter as evil, for the sword devours sometimes this way and sometimes that way. Strengthen your battle against the city and pull it down.’ And encourage him.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both give David’s reassurance and the order to continue the siege. Do not regard as evil preserves the verbal connection with the opposite divine evaluation in verse 27. The final encourage him returns to the messenger’s instruction about Joab.
Verse MT 11:26 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:26
Uriah’s wife heard that Uriah her husband had died, and she mourned for her husband.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:26
Uriah’s wife heard that Uriah her husband had died, and she beat herself in mourning for her husband.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek’s mourning verb makes the bodily lament gesture more explicit. Both call her Uriah’s wife and describe her grief, without attributing an unexpressed motive.
Verse MT 11:27 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 11:27
When the mourning passed, David sent and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done was evil in YHWH’s eyes.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 11:27
When the mourning passed, David sent and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done appeared evil in the Lord’s eyes.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The marriage, birth, and final divine condemnation agree. Greek’s appeared states the evaluation before the Lord, not uncertainty that the act was wrong. The final judgment continues across a publisher paragraph break and is retained with verse 27.