Then the LORD sent
aNathan
to David
. And bhe came
to him and 1said
, "There were two
men
in one
city
, the one
rich
and the other
poor
.
"The rich man
had
a great
many
flocks
and herds
.
"But the poor man had nothing
except
aone
little
ewe
lamb
Which
he bought
and nourished
; And it grew
up together
with him and his children
. It would eat
of his 1bread
and drink
of his cup
and lie
in his bosom
, And was like a daughter
to him.
"Now a traveler came
to the rich
man
, And he 1was unwilling
to take
from his own flock
or his own herd
, To prepare
for the wayfarer
who had come
to him; Rather he took
the poor
man's
ewe
lamb
and prepared
it for the man
who had come
to him."
Then David's anger
burned
greatly
against the man
, and he said
to Nathan
, "As the LORD
lives
, surely
the man
who has done
this
1 adeserves
to die
.
"He must make restitution
for the lamb
afourfold
, because
he did
this
thing
and had
no
compassion
."
Nathan then said
to David
, " aYou are the man
! Thus
says
the LORD
God
of Israel
, ` bIt is I who anointed
you king
over
Israel
and it is I who delivered
you from the hand
of Saul
.
`I also gave you ayour master's
house
and your master's
wives
into your 1care
, and I gave
you the house
of Israel
and Judah
; and if
that had been too little
, I would have added
to you many more things like these
!
`Why ahave you despised
the word
of the LORD
by doing
evil
in His sight
? bYou have struck
down
Uriah
the Hittite
with the sword
, chave taken
his wife
to be your wife
, and have killed
him with the sword
of the sons
of Ammon
.
`Now therefore, athe 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
.'
"Thus says
the LORD
, `Behold
, I will raise
up evil
against
you from your own household
; aI will even take
your wives
before your eyes
and give
them to your companion
, and he will lie
with your wives
in 1broad
daylight
.
`Indeed ayou did
it secretly
, but bI will do
this
thing
before
all
Israel
, and 1under
the sun
.' "
Then David said
to Nathan
, " aI have sinned
against the LORD
." And Nathan
said
to David
, "The LORD
also
has 1 btaken
away
your sin
; you shall not die
.
"However, because
by this
deed
you have agiven
occasion to the enemies
of the LORD
to blaspheme
, the child
also
that is born
to you shall surely
die
."
Then the LORD struck
the child
that Uriah's
1widow
bore
to David
, so that he was very sick
.
David therefore inquired
of God
for the child
; and David
afasted
and went
and blay
all night
on the ground
.
aThe elders of his household
stood
beside
him in order to raise
him up from the ground
, but he was unwilling
and would not eat
food
with them.
Then it happened 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 still alive
, we spoke
to him and he did not listen
to our voice
. How
then can we tell
him that the child
is dead
, since he might do
himself harm
!"
But when David saw
that his servants
were whispering
together, David
perceived
that the child
was dead
; so David
said
to his servants
, "Is the child
dead
?" And they said
, "He is dead
."
So David arose
from the ground
, awashed
, anointed
himself, and changed
his clothes
; and he came
into the house
of the LORD
and bworshiped
. Then he came
to his own house
, and when he requested
, they set
food
before him and he ate
.
Then his servants said
to him, "What
is this
thing
that you have done
? 1While
the child
was alive
, you fasted
and wept
; but when
the child
died
, you arose
and ate
food
."
He said, "While the child
was still alive
, aI fasted
and wept
; for I said
, ` bWho
knows
, the LORD
may be gracious
to me, that the child
may live
.'
"But now he has died
; why
should I fast
? Can
I bring
him back
again
? aI will go
to him, but bhe will not return
to me."
Then David comforted
his wife
Bathsheba
, and went
in to her and lay
with her; and she gave
birth
to a son
, and 1 ahe named
him Solomon
. Now the LORD
loved
him
and sent word through
Nathan
the prophet
, and he named
him 1Jedidiah
for the LORD'S
sake
.
aNow Joab fought
against bRabbah
of the sons
of Ammon
and captured
the royal
city
.
Joab sent
messengers
to David
and said
, "I have fought
against Rabbah
, I have even
captured
the city
of waters
.
"Now therefore, gather
the rest
of the people
together and camp
against
the city
and capture
it, or
I will capture
the city
myself
and it will be named
after
me."
So David gathered
all
the people
and went
to Rabbah
, fought
against it and captured
it.
Then ahe took the crown
of 1their king
from his head
; and its weight
was a talent
of gold
, and in it 2was a precious
stone
; and it was placed on David's
head
. And he brought
out the spoil
of the city
in great
amounts
.
He also brought out the people
who
were in it, and aset
them under saws
, sharp
iron
instruments
, and iron
axes
, and made them pass
through the brickkiln
. And thus
he did
to all
the cities
of the sons
of Ammon
. Then David
and all
the people
returned
to Jerusalem
.