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1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. 2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. 6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? 11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. 12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house. 14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 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. 16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. 17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, 20 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? 21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate. 24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him. 26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
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[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on 2 Samuel 11:2-27
We have taken up the task of writing an apology for the present style of the prophet David, not because he needs this gift, who has excelled in such great merits and flourished in virtues, but because many people, reading the sequence of his deeds without considering the power of the Scriptures or the hidden mysteries, wonder how such a great prophet did not avoid the contagion of adultery first and then of murder.

Therefore, it was our desire to review the history itself, which seems to have been exposed to sin. For in the second book of Kings (2 Samuel 11:2-27), we read that while David was walking in his royal palace, he saw a woman bathing (her name was Bathsheba), of remarkable beauty and grace, with a very attractive face, and he was overcome by the desire to possess her. However, the woman was married to a man named Uriah, and the scene of his death was arranged by royal command. For although it had no effect on his desire, yet it was considered to greatly impede his sense of shame for adultery.

Therefore, let us begin with the most obvious, whom God justified, so that you may not judge. 'For it is of little concern to me,' says Paul, 'that I should be judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself' (1 Corinthians 4:3). Even though he was still in the body and subject to temptation, he did not judge himself because a spiritual person is not judged by anyone but God alone. Finally, he added, 'The one who judges me is the Lord' (1 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, do not judge anything before the appointed time (ibid., 4 and 5). But David has already fulfilled his time and has earned grace, and he is justified by Christ; since David himself rejoiced in being called the son of the Lord, and those who confessed him in this way were enlightened. Why do you call a man of God from a reward to judgment? The Lord has already judged him, of whom he said to Solomon: If you walk before me as your father David walked in the holiness of heart and righteousness, in order to do everything I commanded him (3 Kings 9:4). Is he worthy of judgment or reward, who has done everything according to heavenly commands, walking in holiness and righteousness of heart? Where the vices and sins of others are hidden, there David receives divine testimony of his virtue and glory. And we discuss his sin in vain, for it is through his merit and grace that the sins of others have been revealed. For when Solomon sinned by not keeping the Lord's commands and God intended to divide his kingdom into many parts, He said to him: However, I will not do this in your days because of your father David. I will take it from the hand of your son. However, I will not take the whole kingdom; I will give him one scepter because of my servant David (3 Kings 11:12-13). Therefore, since the Lord justifies, who is there to condemn? What God has cleansed, you must not call common (Acts 10:15).

Nevertheless, with due regard to heavenly judgment, in which you honor the prophet even more, enter into his actions and behaviors. Do not marvel at the man, and do not judge him to be equal to the angels, because he has spent most of his life, even from childhood, dwelling in riches, honors, and positions of power, and has been subjected to many temptations. He has only once given in to error, and it is through this error that even the angels of heaven, as Scripture recounts (Genesis 6:2), were cast down from their virtue and grace. Indeed, another error of his is mentioned, that he caused the people to be counted.

Source: Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on 2 Samuel 11:2
David was a man after God’s own heart, and his lips had often sung of the Holy One, the future Christ. Yet as he walked upon his housetop he was fascinated by Bathsheba’s nudity, and [he] added murder to adultery. Notice here how, even in his own house, a man cannot use his eyes without danger. Then repenting, he says to the Lord, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done this evil in your sight.” Being a king he feared no one else.

Source: LETTER 22.12
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on 2 Samuel 11:2
For blessed Jerome among others points out that Bathsheba manifested a type of the church or of human flesh and says that David bore the mark of Christ; this is clearly apt at many points. Just as Bathsheba when washing herself unclothed in the brook of Kidron delighted David and deserved to attain the royal embraces, and her husband was slain at the prince’s command, so too the church, the assembly of the faithful, once it has cleansed itself of the foulness of sins by the bath of sacred baptism, is known to be joined to Christ the Lord. It was indeed appropriate in those days that the future mysteries of the Lord should be manifested by a deed of this kind, and that what people considered a blameworthy act should be shown to point in a spiritual sense to a great mystery.

Source: EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 50 (51).1-2
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 2 Samuel 11:2
But who that hears of it, not only among believers but among unbelievers themselves also, does not utterly loathe this, that David walking upon his roof lusted after Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah? Yet when he [Uriah] returns back from the battle, he bids him go home to wash his feet. Whereupon he answered at once, “The ark of the Lord dwells in tents; shall I then take rest in my house?” David receives him to his own table and delivers to him letters, through which he would die. But who does David walking upon his roof typify if not him concerning whom it is written, “He has set his tent in the sun.” And what else is it to draw Bathsheba to himself, but to join to himself by a spiritual meaning the law of the letter, which was united to a carnal people? For “Bathsheba” means “the seventh well,” surely, in that through the knowledge of the law, with spiritual grace infused, perfect wisdom is ministered to us. And whom does Uriah denote but the Jewish people, whose name is interpreted “My light from God”? Now because the Jewish people are raised high by receiving the knowledge of the law, they glory as though “in the light of God.” But David took from this Uriah his wife and united her to himself, surely in that the strong-handed One, which is the meaning of “David,” our Redeemer, showed himself in the flesh, while he made known that the law spoke in a spiritual sense concerning himself. In this way, because it was held according to the letter, he demonstrated that he took it from the Jewish people and joined it to himself, in that he declared himself to be proclaimed by it. Yet David asks Uriah to “go home to wash his feet,” in that when the Lord came in the flesh, he asked the Jewish people to turn back to the home of the conscience and to wipe off with their tears the defilements of their deeds, that they would understand the precepts of the law in a spiritual sense and, finding the font of baptism after the grievous hardness of the commandments, have recourse to water after toil.

Source: MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 3.28
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 2 Samuel 11:3-4
It would be better for the sun to be extinguished than for David’s words to be forgotten and not transmitted to others. He fell into adultery and envy. For he saw, he says, a beautiful woman bathing and became enamored of her; and later he succeeded in doing all that he fancied.And the prophet was found in adultery, the pearl in mud. However, he did not yet understand that he had sinned, the passion ravaged him to such a great extent. Because, when the charioteer gets drunk, the chariot moves in an irregular, disorderly manner. What the charioteer is to the chariot, the soul is to the body. If the soul becomes darkened, the body rolls in mud. As long as the charioteer stands firm, the chariot drives smoothly. However, when he becomes exhausted and is unable to hold the reins firmly, you see this very chariot in terrible danger. This exact same thing happens to human beings. As long as the soul is sober and vigilant, this very body remains in purity. However, when the soul is darkened, this very body rolls in mud and in lusts.
Therefore, what did David do? He committed adultery; yet neither was he aware nor was he censured by anyone. This occurred in his most venerable years, so you may learn that, if you are indolent, not even old age benefits you, nor, if you are earnest, can youthful years seriously harm you. Behavior does not depend on age but on the direction of the will.…
So you may learn that the affairs of prudence rely upon the will and do not depend on age, just remember that David was found in his venerable years falling into adultery and committing murder; and he reached such a pathetic state that he was unaware that he had sinned, because his mind, which was the charioteer, was drunk from debauchery.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 2.2.4-7
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 2 Samuel 11:14-15
Surely, it is better to believe that the apostle Paul wrote something untruthful than that the apostle Peter did not act uprightly. If that is so, then let us say something abhorrent, that it is better to believe that the gospel lies than that Christ was denied by Peter; and that the book of Kings [Samuel] lies than that a great prophet, so eminently chosen by the Lord God, committed adultery by coveting and seducing another man’s wife and was guilty of a revolting murder by killing her husband. On the contrary, I will read the holy Scripture with complete certainty and confidence in its truth, founded as it is on the highest summit of divine authority; and I would rather learn from it that people were truly approved or corrected or condemned than allow my trust in the divine Word to be everywhere undermined because I fear to believe that the human conduct of certain excellent and praiseworthy persons is sometimes worthy of blame.

Source: LETTER 82
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 2 Samuel 11:14-15
Well-pleasing in almost all of his actions in the judgment of him who had chosen him, so soon as the burden of his obligations was not upon him, he broke out into festering conceit and showed himself as harsh and cruel in the murder of a man as he had been weakly dissolute in his desire for a woman. And he who had known how in pity to spare the wicked learned afterwards without let or hesitation to pant for the death of even the good. At first he had, indeed, been unwilling to strike down his captive persecutor, but afterwards, with loss to his wearied army, he killed even his loyal soldier. His guilt would, in fact, have removed him a long way from the number of the elect, had not scourgings restored him to pardon.

Source: PASTORAL CARE 1.3