1 And Jehovah 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 had very many flocks and herds;

3 but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and was nourishing; and it grew up with him, and together with his children: it ate of his morsel, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

4 And there came a traveller 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 had come to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him.

5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death;

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, Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

8 and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if {that} had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

9 Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah to do evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Urijah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urijah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst {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 Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah has also put away thy sin: thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, even the child that is born to thee shall certainly die.

15 And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah smote the child that Urijah's wife bore to David, and it became very sick.

16 And David besought 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, and he ate no 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 hearken to our voice; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.

19 But David saw that his servants whispered, and David perceived that the child was dead; and 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 clothing, and entered into the house of Jehovah and worshipped; then he came to his own house and required them to set bread before him, and he ate.

21 And his servants said to him, What thing is this which thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child alive; but as soon as the child is dead, thou dost rise and eat bread.

22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? {perhaps} Jehovah 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 will 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 Jehovah loved him.

25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, for Jehovah's sake.

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 And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city and take it: lest I take the city and it be called by my name.

29 And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it.

30 And he took the crown of their king from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with {the} precious stones; and it was {set} on David's head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

31 And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

1 Jeová enviou Natã a Davi. Natã veio ter com Davi e disse-lhe: Havia dois homens numa cidade; um rico e outro pobre.

2 O rico tinha ovelhas e gados em grande número;

3 o pobre, porém, não tinha coisa alguma, senão uma só cordeirinha, que comprara e criara, e que tinha crescido juntamente com ele, e com seus filhos; do seu bocado comia, e do seu copo bebia, e dormia no seu regaço, e ele a tinha como filha.

4 Chegou um viajante à casa do rico, e este não quis tomar das suas ovelhas e do seu gado, para preparar comida para o peregrino que lhe chegara à casa, mas tomou a cordeira do pobre e preparou-a para o hóspede que lhe havia chegado.

5 A ira de Davi se acendeu sobremaneira contra aquele homem; e disse a Natã: Pela vida de Jeová, o homem que fez isso é digno de morte.

6 Há de pagar o quadruplicado da cordeira, porque fez isso, e porque não mostrou compaixão.

7 Disse Natã a Davi: Tu és aquele homem. Assim diz Jeová, Deus de Israel: Eu te ungi rei sobre Israel e eu te livrei da mão de Saul;

8 dei-te a casa do teu senhor, e as mulheres do teu senhor no teu seio, e te dei a casa de Israel e de Judá. Se isso fosse pouco, te acrescentaria outro tanto.

9 Por que desprezaste as palavras de Jeová, fazendo o mal diante dos seus olhos? Feriste à espada Urias heteu, e tomaste sua mulher para ser tua mulher, e mataste-o com a espada dos filhos de Amom.

10 Agora da tua casa não se apartará jamais a espada, porque me desprezaste e tomaste a mulher de Urias heteu para ser tua mulher.

11 Assim diz Jeová: Eis que suscitarei da tua própria casa o mal sobre ti; tomarei tuas mulheres à tua vista, dá-las-ei ao teu próximo, e ele se deitará com elas aos olhos deste sol.

12 Porque tu o fizeste às escondidas, mas eu farei isto perante todo o Israel e perante o sol.

13 Respondeu Davi a Natã: Pequei contra Jeová. Tornou Natã a Davi: Também Jeová fez passar o teu pecado; não morrerás.

14 Todavia, porquanto com este feito deste lugar a que os inimigos de Jeová blasfemem, sem falta morrerá também o filho que te nasceu.

15 Retirou-se Natã para sua casa. Feriu Jeová o menino que a mulher de Urias dera à luz a Davi; e adoeceu gravemente.

16 Davi recorreu a Deus pelo menino; Davi jejuava com rigoroso jejum e, entrando, passava a noite toda prostrado sobre a terra.

17 Então os anciãos da sua casa se punham ao lado dele, para o levantarem do chão; mas ele não queria, nem comia com eles.

18 Ao sétimo dia morreu o menino. Os servos de Davi temiam dizer-lhe que o menino era morto. Porque diziam: Quando o menino ainda vivia, nós lhe falávamos, e ele não dava ouvidos à nossa voz; qual não será a sua aflição, se lhe dissermos que o menino é morto?

19 Vendo Davi que os seus servos falavam uns aos outros em voz baixa, entendeu que o menino era morto, e perguntou aos seus servos: É morto o menino? Eles responderam: É morto.

20 Davi levantou-se do chão: lavou-se, ungiu-se e mudou de vestidos; e tendo entrado na casa de Jeová, adorou. Depois foi para sua casa; às suas ordens deram-lhe de comer, e comeu.

21 Então lhe disseram os seus servos: Que é isto que fizeste? Jejuaste e choraste pelo menino, quando ele ainda vivia; porém agora que ele morreu, te levantaste e comeste.

22 Davi respondeu: Quando o menino ainda vivia, jejuei e chorei; pois dizia: Quem sabe se Jeová não terá piedade de mim, e viverá o menino?

23 Porém agora que ele morreu, por que hei de jejuar eu? posso eu fazê-lo voltar? Eu irei para ele, mas ele não voltará para mim.

24 Consolou Davi a Bate-Seba, sua mulher, e, entrando, dormiu com ela. Ela deu à luz um filho, e Davi deu-lhe o nome de Salomão. Jeová o amou;

25 enviou por intermédio do profeta Natã, e deu ao menino o nome de Jedidias, por amor de Jeová.

26 Ora, Joabe pelejou contra Rabá, dos filhos de Amom, e tomou a cidade real.

27 Enviou Joabe mensageiros a Davi, e disse: Tendo pelejado contra Rabá, já tomei a cidade das águas.

28 Agora ajunta o resto do povo, acampa contra a cidade e toma-a, para não suceder que, tomando eu a cidade, seja aclamado o meu nome sobre ela.

29 Ajuntou Davi a todo o povo e, indo a Rabá, pelejou contra ela, e tomou-a.

30 Tirou a coroa da cabeça do rei deles (o peso dela era de um talento de ouro, e nela havia pedras preciosas); e foi posta na cabeça de Davi. Da cidade levou mui grande despojo.

31 Trazendo os seus moradores, fê-los passar a serras, e a picaretas, e a machados, e em fornos de tijolos; assim o fez em todas as cidades dos filhos de Amom. Voltou Davi com todo o seu povo para Jerusalém.