2 Samuel 11:13

2Sa 11:13 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.

Ver. 13. And made him drunk.] Thus doth David still proficere in peius, proceed from bad to worse; So plying good Uriah with cup after cup, that at length he was intoxicated. Vina parant animos Veneri. {a} A stomach boiling with wine easily foameth into lust, saith Jerome. Wine is the milk of Venus, saith another. David’s design here was to make Uriah, contrary to his oath, to lie with his wife. Tiberius, otherwise spare of speech, yet when drunk, arcana effutiebat omnia, would utter all the secrets of his heart. {b} So David hoped that Uriah, when well heated with wine, would lay aside all his austerities, and take his pleasure. All this was so much the worse done of David, because though he was drunk, with lust, when he lay with Bathsheba, yet he was sober enough when he made Uriah drunk; he went quietly and sedately on in it. Ruina maiorum sit cautela minorum. Be not highminded, but fear.

With the servants of his lord.] With the hinds and household servants; not with the guard, as before; perhaps because ashamed that he was overcome with drink.

But went not down to his house.] And so David was still disappointed, and by God Almighty counterplotted, that he might at length awake "out of the snare of the devil, who had carried him alive captive at his pleasure." {2Ti 2:26}

{a} Ovid, De Rem. Am., lib. ii.

{b} Sueton.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa_11:13

And when David had called him he made him drunk.

The sinfulness of causing drunkenness

It is a very wicked thing, under any design whatsoever, to make a person drunk. Woe to him that does so (Hab_2:15-16.) God will put a cup of trembling into the hands of those who put into the hands of others the cup of drunkenness. Robbing a man of Ins reason is worse than robbing him of his money, and drawing him into sin worse than drawing him into any trouble whatsoever. (M. Henry.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He made him drink more liberally than he was wont to do, thinking hereby he would have lain by his wife.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. He made him drunk] Supposing that in this state he would have been off his guard, and hastened down to his house.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) He made him drunk.—This fresh attempt of David to conceal his crime by attempting to send Uriah to his house while in a state of intoxication does not need comment, but Uriah’s resolve was so strong that it still governed his conduct while in this almost irresponsible condition.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. and he made him drunk] In the hope that he might forget his oath and break his resolution not to go home. But this plan also failed. “The Providence of God is here manifest, defeating David’s base contrivances, and bringing his sin to the open light. It is no less clear how mercy was at the bottom of this severity which issued in David’s deep repentance, and has also given to the Church one of the most solemn and searching warnings as to the evil of sin which is contained in the whole Bible.” Speaker’s Comm.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when David had called him,.... Invited him to sup with him:

he did eat and drink before him; very freely and plentifully:

and he made him drunk: this was another sin of David's, done in order to make him forget his oath and vow, and that being inflamed with wine, desires might be excited in him to go home and lie with his wife; but even this scheme did not succeed:

and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord: in the guard room, where he had lain before:

but went not down to his house; for he was not so drunk but he remembered his oath, and kept his resolution not to go down to his own house; the Lord no doubt working upon his mind and disinclining him to it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Couch. It seems he was one of the guards. Josephus says he was Joab’s armour-bearer, (Antiquities vii. 7.) and one of David’s heroes, chap. xxiii. 39.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

When David had called him, i.e. being invited by David.

He made him drunk, or, he made him merry, as the word oft signifies. He caused him to drink more than was convenient.

He went out to lie on his bed; which it doth not appear that he did the night before; but now his excess in eating and drinking might make it more necessary for him.

With the servants of his lord, i.e. in some chamber in the king’s court, where the king’s servants used to take their repose.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. He made him drunk — Hoping thus to unman him, that he might forget or neglect his resolution to stay away from home.

But went not down to his house — “The providence of God is here manifest,” says Bishop Hervey, “defeating David’s base contrivances, and bringing his sin to the open light. It is no less clear how mercy was at the bottom of this severity, which issued in David’s deep repentance, and has also given to the Church one of the most solemn and searching warnings as to the evil of sin which is contained in the whole Bible.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He made him drunk. David thus adds sin to sin, and, in order to accomplish his vile end, he degrades the brave soldier whom already he had dishonoured. But even when intoxicated Uriah kept to his determination; and though on this second night there would not be the same pleasure in chatting with old comrades seen again after long absence, he still sleeps in the guard room. And thus there were witnesses that he had not gone to his house.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.