1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him,
and said unto 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 unto him as a daughter.
4 And
there came a traveller unto 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 unto
him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to
him.
5 And
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the
LORD liveth, the man that hath 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, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD 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 commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou
hast killed Uriah 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 thine house; because thou hast
despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11 Thus
saith the LORD, 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 unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto
David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit,
because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD
to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15 And
Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife
bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16 David
therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay
all night upon 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 spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto 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 unto 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 unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst
fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead,
thou didst 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, wherefore 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 unto her, and lay with her: and
she bare 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's crown from off his head, the weight whereof 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 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 brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of
Ammon. So David
and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
