2-samuel 11:14

Translations

King James Version (KJV)

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

American King James Version (AKJV)

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

American Standard Version (ASV)

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

Basic English Translation (BBE)

Now in the morning, David gave Uriah a letter to take to Joab.

Webster's Revision

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

World English Bible

It happened in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

English Revised Version (ERV)

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

Clarke's 2-samuel 11:14 Bible Commentary

David wrote a letter - This was the sum of treachery and villany. He made this most noble man the carrier of letters which prescribed the mode in which he was to be murdered. This case some have likened to that of Bellerophon, son of Glaucus, king of Ephyra, who being in the court of Proetus, king of the Argives, his queen Antia, or as others Sthenoboea, fell violently in love with him; but he, refusing to gratify her criminal passions, was in revenge accused by her to Proetus her husband, as having attempted to corrupt her. Proetus not willing to violate the laws of hospitality by slaying him in his own house, wrote letters to Jobates, king of Lycia, the father of Sthenoboea, and sent them by the hand of Bellerophon, stating his crime, and desiring Jobates to put him to death. To meet the wishes of his son-in-law, and keep his own hands innocent of blood, he sent him with a small force against a very warlike people called the Solymi; but, contrary to all expectation, he not only escaped with his life, but gained a complete victory over them. He was afterwards sent upon several equally dangerous and hopeless expeditions, but still came off with success; and to reward him Jobates gave him one of his daughters to wife, and a part of his kingdom. Sthenoboea, hearing this, through rage and despair killed herself.

I have given this history at large, because many have thought it not only to be parallel to that of Uriah, but to be a fabulous formation from the Scripture fact: for my own part, I scarcely see in them any correspondence, but in the simple circumstance that both carried those letters which contained their own condemnation. From the fable of Bellerophon came the proverb, Bellerophontis literas portare, "to carry one's own condemnation".