David and Bathsheba

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "She is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite."

David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. She conceived and sent word to David, "I am pregnant." David summoned Uriah from the battle, hoping he would go home to his wife, but Uriah refused to go to his house while his fellow soldiers were in battle. So David arranged to have Uriah placed in the hottest battle, where he was killed.

Bathsheba became David's wife and bore him a son, but the Lord was displeased with what David had done. The Lord sent Nathan to David, who confronted him with his sin. David confessed, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die." David repented, and God forgave him, though the consequences remained.