2nd Samuel Chapter 11 verse 16 Holy Bible
And it came to pass, when Joab kept watch upon the city, that he assigned Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men were.
read chapter 11 in ASV
So while Joab was watching the town, he put Uriah in the place where it was clear to him the best fighters were.
read chapter 11 in BBE
And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.
read chapter 11 in DARBY
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
read chapter 11 in KJV
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew that valiant men were.
read chapter 11 in WBT
It happened, when Joab kept watch on the city, that he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men were.
read chapter 11 in WEB
And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men `are';
read chapter 11 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 16. - When Joab observed the city; Revised Version, kept watch upon the city. This does net mean, as some suppose, that Joab sent a body of men to examine the fortifications with a view to an assault, and so provoked a sally. The verb simply refers to the ordinary operations of a siege, which usually resolved itself into a long blockade, continued until starvation compelled a surrender; and to hasten this the people of the villages were forced into the town, by the rule that all left outside were put to the sword. To maintain the blockade, men were posted at all fit points round the city, and these were constantly assailed by the besieged. Joab then placed Uriah at a post which was especially the object of attack; and when the usual sally took place and was repulsed, Joab seems to have ordered Uriah to pursue them up to the very gate, where they would be exposed to a shower of arrows from the walls. Others fell besides Uriah, and that the loss was considerable, and the result of bad generalship, though designedly such, seems probable from the deprecation of the king's anger in ver. 20.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(16) Observed the city.--The word means watched, or blockaded. In the operations of the siege Joab so arranged some of his forces as to invite a sally from the city under circumstances in which it would be successful. It appears from 2Samuel 11:24 that Uriah's party had been sent so near as to come within reach of the archers on the wall.
