1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
4 And there came a travelers to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come to him; but took the poor man' lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David' anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD lives, the man that has done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, You are the man. Thus said the LORD God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave you your master' house, and your master' wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to you such and such things.
9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? you have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house; because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus said the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For you did it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
14 However,, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.
15 And Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah' wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
16 David therefore sought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
21 Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that you have done? you did fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, you did rise and eat bread.
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.
25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 And he took their king' crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David' head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
1 And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who spared to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor mans lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.
5 And Davids anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah lives, the man who has done this is a son of death!
6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he has done this thing and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8 I gave you your masters house and your masters wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you this and that!
9 Why have you despised the Word of Jehovah, to do evil in His eyes? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the eyes of the sun.
12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.
13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
14 However, because of this matter in which you have caused contempt, for Jehovah to be spurned by His enemies, the child also who is born to you shall die the death.
15 And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah struck the child that Uriahs wife had borne to David, and it became sick.
16 David therefore besought God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17 And the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18 And on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. For they said, Behold, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child has died? He may do some harm!
19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child had died. Therefore David said to his servants, Has the child died? And they said, He has died.
20 So David rose up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of Jehovah and prostrated himself. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child had died, you arose and ate food.
22 And he said, While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows whether Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now Jehovah loved him,
25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and I have captured the city of waters.
28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and lay siege against the city and take it, lest I capture the city and it be called after my name.
29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.
30 And he took their kings crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on Davids head. Also he brought out the spoils of the city in great abundance.
31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over into the brick kiln. Thus he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.