2 Samuel 12
1 Yahweh [told the prophet Nathan what David had done, and he] sent Nathan to tell [this story to] David: “[I heard about] two men [who] were living in a certain city. One was rich and the other was poor.
And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: 'Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;
2 The rich man owned a lot of cattle and sheep.
The rich hath flocks and herds very many;
3 But the poor man had only one little female lamb, which he had bought. He raised the lamb, and it grew up with his children. He would give the lamb some of his own food and let it drink from his cup. He let the lamb sleep in his arms. The lamb was like a daughter to him.
And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;
4 [One day] a visitor came to [visit] the rich man. The rich man did not want to take one of his own animals [and kill it] to prepare a meal for the visitor. So instead, he stole the poor man’s lamb [and killed it] and prepared a meal for his visitor.”
And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
5 [When] David [heard that, he] was very angry about [what] the rich man [had done]. He said to Nathan, “I solemnly declare that the man who did that should be executed!
And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, 'Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death [is] the man who is doing this,
6 But before he is executed, he should pay back to the poor man four lambs for doing this, and for not having pity [on the poor man].”
and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man [I have been talking about]! And this is what Yahweh, the God we Israelis [worship], says to you: ‘I appointed you to be king of Israel, after having rescued you from Saul.
And Nathan saith unto David, 'Thou [art] the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 I gave you his palace and his wives. I caused you to become the king to rule Israel and Judah. If [you had told me that] you were not content with what I gave you, I would have given you twice as much!
and I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such [things].
9 So why have you despised my commandment [about not committing adultery]? You have done what I consider to be very evil! You have arranged for Uriah to be killed in a battle by the Ammon people-group’s soldiers, and you have taken his wife to be your wife!
'Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.
10 You have despised me, and have taken Uriah’s wife to be your wife. So for many generations some of your descendants will die violently. [MTY, PRS]
'And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;
11 I solemnly declare to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble to you. I will take your wives and give them to him, and he will have sexual relations with them in the daytime, where everyone can see it, and you will know all about it.
thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;
12 What you did, you did secretly, but what I will cause to happen, everyone in Israel will be able to see it [or know about it]. [IDM]’”
for thou hast done [it] in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'
13 David replied, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh has forgiven you for your sin: You will not die [because of this sin].
And David saith unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, 'Also — Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;
14 But, you have shown contempt for Yahweh by doing this. So, your baby will die.”
only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'
15 Then Nathan went home. Then Yahweh caused the baby t o become very sick, the one that Uriah’s wife had given birth to.
And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;
16 So David prayed to God that the child [would not die]. He (fasted/abstained from food), and he went into [the room where he slept] and lay all night on the floor.
and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.
17 [The next morning] his advisors stood around him and urged him to get up. But he would not get up, and he would not eat any food with them.
And the elders of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing, nor hath he eaten with them bread;
18 One week later the baby died. David’s servants were afraid to tell that to David. They said [to each other], “Hey, while the baby was still alive, we talked to him, but he would not answer us. Now, if we tell him that the baby is dead [RHQ], he may do something to harm himself!”
and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the lad is dead, for they said, 'Lo, in the lad being alive we spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto him, The lad is dead? — then he hath done evil.'
19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering something to each other, he realized that the baby must be dead. So he asked them, “Is the baby dead?” They replied, “Yes, he is dead.”
And David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, 'Is the lad dead?' and they say, 'Dead.'
20 Then David got up from the floor. He bathed himself, put lotions on his body, and put on other clothes, Then he went into Yahweh’s Sacred Tent and worshiped Yahweh. Then he went home. He asked his servants for some food. They gave him some, and he ate it.
And David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint [himself], and changeth his raiment, and cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.
21 Then his servants said to him, “We do not understand [RHQ] why you have done this! While the baby was still alive, you cried for him and refused to eat anything. But now that the baby has died, [you are not crying any more!] You got up and ate some food!”
And his servants say unto him, 'What [is] this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.'
22 David replied, “While the baby was still alive, I fasted and cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? Yahweh may be merciful to me and not allow the baby to die’.
And he saith, 'While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? — Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;
23 But now the baby is dead. So (there is no reason for me to (fast/abstain from eating food) any more./why should I (fast/abstain from eating food) any more?) [RHQ] (Can I bring him back to me?/I certainly cannot bring him back to me!) [RHQ] [Some day] I will go to where he is, but he will not return to me.”
and now, he hath died, why [is] this — I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'
24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba. Then he (slept/had sexual relations) with her, and she [became pregnant again and] gave birth to another son. David named that son Solomon. Yahweh loved that little boy.
And David comforteth Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,
25 He told the prophet Nathan to tell David to name the baby boy Jedediah [which means ‘loved by Yahweh’, ] because Yahweh loved him.
and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.
26 (Meanwhile/While all that was happening), Joab’s [soldiers] attacked Rabbah, [the capital city] of the Ammon people-group; and they captured the king’s fortress.
And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,
27 Then Joab sent messengers to David, to tell him this: “My troops are attacking Rabbah, and we have captured the city’s water supply.
and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, 'I have fought against Rabbah — also I have captured the city of waters;
28 Now gather your troops and come and surround the city and capture it. If you do not do that, my troops will capture the city and it will then be named ‘the City of Joab’.”
and now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name hath been called upon it.'
29 So David gathered all his troops. They went [with David] to Rabbah and attacked it and captured it.
And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;
30 Then David took the crown from the head of the king of Rabbah (OR, from the head of [Milcom] the god of Rabbah) and put it on his own head. It [was very heavy; it] weighed (75 pounds/34 kg.), and it had many very valuable stones fastened to it. His soldiers also took many other valuable things from the city.
and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight [is] a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;
31 Then they brought the people of Rabbah out of the city and forced them to [work for them] using saws and iron picks and axes. David’s troops also forced them to make bricks. David’s soldiers did this in all the towns of the Ammon people-group. Then David and all of his army returned to Jerusalem.
and the people who [are] in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.
