2 Samuel 11:15
ESV
In the letter he wrote, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die."
NIV
In it he wrote, "Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
NASB
He had written in the letter the following: 'Station Uriah on the front line of the fiercest battle and pull back from him, so that he may be struck and killed.'
CSB
In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.
NLT
The letter instructed Joab, 'Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.'
KJV
And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
NKJV
And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”
What does 2 Samuel 11:15 mean?
The Israelite army is encamped by the Ammonite city of Rabbah. The year prior, Joab, the Israelite military commander, had routed the Ammonites into hiding in the heavily walled city. David wants them taken care of and sends the army to destroy the city. Uriah, one of David's thirty greatest warriors, is at the battle. He doesn't know that while he fights the Ammonites, his wife is being impregnated by his king, David (2 Samuel 11:1–5).David needs to hide his adultery from Uriah and everyone else. His first plan, to trick Uriah into thinking the baby is his, didn't work (2 Samuel 11:6–13). David's next plan is to admit the baby is his, but fool everyone into thinking he's legitimate. To do that, he needs Uriah to die so he can marry Bathsheba.
David sends Uriah back to the front with a message for Joab: put Uriah in the heaviest fighting, then pull the rest of the soldiers back. That would leave Uriah as the only enemy target and assure his death. Joab recognizes this pattern. Long ago, in the time of the Judges, Abimelech, Gideon's son with a slave woman, murdered sixty-nine of Gideon's wives' seventy sons and declared himself king. Eventually, Abimelech's supporters turned on him. During a battle, Abimelech stood too close to the wall of a tower, and a woman dropped a millstone on his head (Judges 9).
Joab anticipates that when David hears that Uriah is dead, and how it happened, he will mention this story (2 Samuel 11:20–21). It's incredibly bad tactics, But Joab trusts that David knows what he's asking.
