2 Samuel 11:20
ESV
then, if the king 's anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
NIV
the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?
NASB
then it shall be that if the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
CSB
if the king’s anger gets stirred up and he asks you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall?
NLT
But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls?
KJV
And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
NKJV
if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
What does 2 Samuel 11:20 mean?
Joab is leading the Israelite army in battle against a fortified Ammonite city (2 Samuel 11:1). He was interrupted when Uriah, one of his best generals, returned from Jerusalem with a message from David. In the message, David orders Joab to place Uriah where the most valiant Ammonites are fighting, withdraw his support, and let the Ammonites kill him. Joab does so, and Uriah is killed along with several other soldiers (2 Samuel 11:14–17).As Joab tells the messenger what to tell David, he tries to anticipate what David will say (2 Samuel 11:19). What happened to Uriah and the others is similar to what happened to Gideon's son Abimelech. Gideon's wives had seventy sons; his slave woman had one: Abimelech. Abimelech convinced his mother's family to join him in killing his rivals and to declare him king. One of Abimelech's half-brothers survived but went into hiding. Eventually, Abimelech's supporters turned against him. Some fled to a tower in the city of Thebez. Abimelech came close to the door, intending to burn it down. A woman, high above, dropped a millstone on his head. Mortally wounded, Abimelech ordered his armor-bearer to kill him with the sword (Judges 9).
Joab thinks David will criticize Joab's tactics and blame him for the deaths. So, Joab tells the messenger, if David mentions Abimelech, tell him that Uriah died. Joab doesn't know that David wants to hide the fact he got Uriah's wife pregnant (2 Samuel 11:2–5). He just knows David wants Uriah dead.
