Kings II 12
1 And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David; and he went in to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
2 And the rich [man] had very many flocks and herds.
The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,
3 But the poor [man had] only one little ewe lamb, which he had purchased, and preserved, and reared; an it grew up with himself and his children in common; it ate of his bread and drank of his cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.
4 And a traveller came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his flocks and of his herds, to dress for the traveller that came to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that came to him.
Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
5 And David was greatly moved with anger against the man; and David said to Nathan, [As] the Lord lives, the man that did this thing shall surely die.
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 And he shall restore the lamb sevenfold, because he has not spared.
Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
7 And Nathan said to David, You are the man that has done this. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed you to be king over Israel, and I rescued you out the hand of Saul;
Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 and I gave you the house of your lord, and the wives of your lord into your bosom, and I gave to you the house of Israel and Juda; and if that had been little, I would have given you yet more.
I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
9 Why have you set at nothing the word of the Lord, to do that which is evil in his eyes? you have slain Urias the Chettite with the sword, and you have taken his wife to be your wife, and you have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now therefore the sword shall not depart from your house for ever, because you has set me at nothing, and you have taken the wife of Urias the Chettite, to be your wife.
Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against you evil out of your house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and will give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and before the sun.
You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, And the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
14 Only because you have given great occasion of provocation to the enemies of the Lord by this thing, your son also that is born to you shall surely die.
Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
15 And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child, which the wife of Urias the Chettite bore to David, and it was ill.
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
16 And David enquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth 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 [rise], nor did he eat bread with them.
The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died: and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke to him, and he listened not to our voice; and you should we tell him that the child is dead?—so would he do [himself] harm.
On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”
19 And David understood that his servants were whispering, and David perceived that the child was dead: and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead.
When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied.
20 Then David rose up from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his raiment, and went into the house of God, and worshipped him; and went into his own house, and called for bread to eat, and they set bread before him and he ate.
Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.
21 And his servants said to him, What [is] this thing that you have done concerning the child? while it was yet living you did fast, and weep, and watch: and when the child was dead you did rise up, and did eat bread, and drink.
“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”
22 And David said, While the child yet lived, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows if the Lord will pity me, and the child live?
David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’
23 But now it is dead, why should I fast thus? shall I be able to bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 And David comforted Bersabee his wife, and he went in to her, and lay with her; and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his named Solomon, and the Lord loved him.
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jeddedi, for the Lord's sake.
and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.
26 And Joab fought against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbath, and taken the city of waters.
Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.
28 And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, an take it beforehand; lest I take the city first, and my name be called upon it.
Now, therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”
29 And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbath, and fought against it, and took it.
So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it.
30 And he took the crown of Molchom their king from off his head, and the weight of it was a talent of gold, with precious stones, and it was upon the head of David; and he carried forth very much spoil of the city.
Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.
31 And he brought forth the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under iron harrows, and axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus he did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
