2 Samuel 11:15

15 In the letter he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front lines where the fighting is the fiercest. Then pull back and leave him exposed so that he's sure to be killed."

2 Samuel 11:15 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 11:15

And he wrote in the letter, saying
Giving the following orders to Joab:

set ye Uriah is the forefront of the hottest battle:
over against that part of the city where the enemy was strongest, and the battle the fiercest, and the stones and arrows were cast the thickest:

and retire ye from him;
leave him to himself to combat the enemy alone; who seeing him deserted, would sally out upon him, and the few that might be with him, and slay him:

that he may be smitten, and die;
thus he sought to add murder to adultery, and that in the basest manner, and which he accomplished; and this is often the case, that murder follows adultery, either by way of revenge for it, or in order to cover it, as here.

2 Samuel 11:15 In-Context

13 David invited him to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. But in the evening Uriah again went out and slept with his master's servants. He didn't go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 In the letter he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front lines where the fighting is the fiercest. Then pull back and leave him exposed so that he's sure to be killed."
16 So Joab, holding the city under siege, put Uriah in a place where he knew there were fierce enemy fighters.
17 When the city's defenders came out to fight Joab, some of David's soldiers were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.