2 Samuel 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. 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.
David called Uriah to eat and drink with him and made him drunk, hoping that in that state he would go down to his house and to his wife and so cover the adultery, but in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord and did not go home. That failed trick was part of a desperate effort to hide guilt, and when concealment failed it drove David on to plan Uriah's death in battle. He sent Uriah himself to carry the order that set him in the fiercest fighting and directed Joab to withdraw support from him, so that Uriah was killed by the Ammonites.
The fall grew out of idleness and failure to keep usefully occupied, which left David open to temptation and led step by step to adultery and to arranging Uriah's murder. Useful, purposeful work would have guarded him from these sins. Led through appetite and passion he incurred God's displeasure, forsaking God's teachings and sullying a once-fair reputation, though honoring God's Word had made him steadfast. In this he used the authority God had given him in a way contrary to God's law, and a royal command to do evil did not make obedience right.
His wrongdoing followed earlier departures from God and led on to further wrongs, showing that even a man favored by God and entrusted with great responsibility could fall under temptation in the case of Bath-sheba and Uriah. He remained accountable, for past righteousness cannot save one who turns from it and does evil. God did not excuse or justify the heinous sin but reproved David through Nathan and imposed punishment. David acknowledged his guilt with remorse and sincere grief, and because he repented God forgave him, spared his life, and averted part of the threatened calamity, yet still punished him for giving the Lord's enemies occasion to blaspheme, showing that God does not justify transgression.
The faithful record of his failure stands as a warning, not as an excuse for wrongdoing, teaching readers to avoid evil. At the same time the struggles and falls of biblical figures encourage those who fail, because God's grace can give strength to rise again and continue the conflict against sin.