2 Samuel 12

And God sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and he said to him, “Two men were in one city, one rich and one poor.

To the rich {one} was flock and herd very greatly.

But to the poor {man} {was} not anything except one little ewe that he had bought. And he nourished it, and it grew up together with him and with his sons. It would eat from his morsel, and it would drink from his cup, and it would lie down in his lap. And it was like a daughter to him. \*

Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take from his flock or from his herd to prepare for the wayfarer having come to him, but he took the ewe of the poor man, and he prepared it for the man having come to him.” \*

And the nose of David burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “The life of God, that the man having done this {is} a son of death!

Now he shall restore the ewe fourfold because he did this thing and because he did not spare.” \*

And Nathan said to David, “You {are} the man. Thus says God, the God of Israel: ‘I, I anointed you as king over Israel, and I, I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

And I gave to you the house of your master, and the wives of your master into your lap, and I gave to you the house of Israel and Judah. And if {this had been} little, then I would have added to you like them and like them. \*

Why have you despised the word of God to do evil in my eyes? You struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and you took his wife for yourself as a wife, and you murdered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

And now, the sword will not turn away from your house to forever, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be a wife for you.’ \*

Thus says God, ‘Behold me, raising up harm against you from your house. And I will take your wives to your eyes, and I will give {them} to your neighbor. And he will lie with your wives to the eyes of this sun.

For you, you did {this} in secret, but I, I will do this thing before all of Israel and before the sun.’” \*

And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against God.” \* And Nathan said to David, “God has also taken away your sin. You will not die.

Nevertheless, because spurning, you have spurned the enemies of God with this thing, also the son born to you dying, will die.”

Then Nathan went to his home. \* And God struck the child whom the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and he became sick.

And David sought God on behalf of the boy. And David fasted a fast, and he went in and lodged and lay on the ground.

And the elders of his house arose upon him to make him arise from the ground, but he was not willing, and he would not eat bread with them. \*

And it happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to declare to him that the child had died, for they said, “Behold, while the child was living, we spoke to him, but he did not listen to our voice. So how shall we say to him, ‘The child has died’? For he will do harm.” \*

And David saw that his servants were whispering together, and David realized that the child had died. So David said to his servants, “Has the child died?” \* And they said, “He has died.” \*

Then David arose from the ground, and he washed, and he anointed {himself}, and he changed his clothes, and he entered the house of God, and he prostrated himself. Then he went to his house, and he asked, and they set out bread for him, and he ate. \*

And his servants said to him, “What {is} this thing that you have done? For the sake of the living child you fasted and wept, but when the child died, you arose and ate bread.” \*

And he said, “When yet the child {was} alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? God may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’

But now, he is dead. Why {is} this, {that} I should fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I am going to him, but he, he will not return to me.” \*

And David consoled Bathsheba his wife, and he came to her and lay with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And God loved him.

And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name Jedidiah because of God. \*

And Joab fought with Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and he captured the city of the kingdom.

And Joab sent messengers to David, and he said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Also, I have captured the city of waters.

And now, gather the rest of the people and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I myself capture the city and my name be called to it.” \*

So David gathered all of the people, and he went to Rabbah. And he fought with it, and he captured it.

And he took the crown of their king from his head, and its weight {was} a talent of gold, and a precious stone, and it became on the head of David. And he brought out the plunder of the city, very much. \*

But the people who {were} in it, he brought out, and he set {them} with the saw and with picks of iron and with axes of iron, and he made them pass through at the brick kiln. And thus he did to all of the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all of the people returned {to} Jerusalem. \*