2 Samuel 12
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And Nathan came to him and said, There were two men in the same town: one a man of great wealth, and the other a poor man.
Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And when he had come to him, he said to him: “Two men were in one city: one wealthy, and the other poor.
2 The man of wealth had great numbers of flocks and herds;
The wealthy man had very many sheep and oxen.
3 But the poor man had only one little she-lamb, which he had got and taken care of: from its birth it had been with him like one of his children; his meat was its food, and from his cup it took its drink, resting in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
But the poor man had nothing at all, except one little sheep, which he had bought and nourished. And she had grown up before him, together with his children, eating from his bread, and drinking from his cup, and sleeping in his bosom. And she was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a traveller came to the house of the man of wealth, but he would not take anything from his flock or his herd to make a meal for the traveller who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and made it ready for the man who had come.
But when a certain traveler had come to the wealthy man, neglecting to take from his own sheep and oxen, so that he might present a feast for that traveler, who had come to him, he took the sheep of the poor man, and he prepared a meal for the man who had come to him.”
5 And David was full of wrath against that man; and he said to Nathan, By the living Lord, death is the right punishment for the man who has done this:
Then David’s indignation was enraged exceedingly against that man, and he said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is a son of death.
6 And he will have to give back four times the value of the lamb, because he has done this and because he had no pity.
He shall restore the sheep fourfold, because he did this word, and he did not take pity.”
7 And Nathan said to David, You are that man. The Lord God of Israel says, I made you king over Israel, putting holy oil on you, and I kept you safe from the hands of Saul;
But Nathan said to David: “You are that man. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.
8 I gave you your master's daughter and your master's wives for yourself, and I gave you the daughters of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you such and such things.
And I gave the house of your lord to you, and the wives of your lord into your bosom. And I gave the house of Israel and of Judah to you. And as if these things were small, I shall add much greater things to you.
9 Why then have you had no respect for the word of the Lord, doing what is evil in his eyes? You have put Uriah the Hittite to death with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife; you have put him to death with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Therefore, why have you despised the word of the Lord, so that you did evil in my sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. And you have taken his wife as a wife for yourself. And you have put him to death with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 So now the sword will never be turned away from your family; because you have had no respect for me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
For this reason, the sword shall not withdraw from your house, even perpetually, because you have despised me, and you have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite, so that she may be your wife.’
11 The Lord says, From those of your family I will send evil against you, and before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he will take your wives to his bed by the light of this sun.
And so, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up over you an evil from your own house. And I will take your wives away before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor. And he will sleep with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 You did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and in the light of the sun.
For you acted secretly. But I will do this word in the sight of all of Israel, and in the sight of the sun.’”
13 And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you.
And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David: “The Lord has also taken away your sin. You shall not die.
14 But still, because you have had no respect for the Lord, death will certainly overtake the child who has newly come to birth.
Yet truly, because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, because of this word, the son who was born to you: dying he shall die.”
15 Then Nathan went back to his house. And the hand of the Lord was on David's son, the child of Uriah's wife, and it became very ill.
And Nathan returned to his own house. And the Lord struck the little one, whom the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and he was despaired of.
16 So David made prayer to God for the child; and he took no food day after day, and went in and, stretching himself out on the earth, was there all night.
And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.
17 And the chief men of his house got up and went to his side to make him get up from the earth, but he would not; and he would not take food with them.
Then the elders of his house came, urging him to rise up from the ground. And he was not willing, nor would he eat a meal with them.
18 And then on the seventh day the child's death took place. And David's servants were in fear of giving him the news of the child's death: for they said, Truly, while the child was still living he gave no attention when we said anything to him: what will he do to himself if we give him word that the child is dead?
Then, on the seventh day, it happened that the infant died. And the servants of David were afraid to report to him that the little one had died. For they said: “Behold, when the child was still alive, we were speaking to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How much more will he afflict himself, if we tell him that the boy is dead?”
19 But when David saw that his servants were talking together quietly, he was certain that the child was dead: and he said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is.
But when David had seen his servants whispering, he realized that the infant had died. And he said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they responded to him, “He is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the earth, and after washing and rubbing himself with oil and changing his clothing, he went into the house of the Lord and gave worship: then he went back to his house, and at his order they put food before him and he had a meal.
Therefore, David rose up from the ground. And he washed and anointed himself. And when he had changed his clothing, he entered the house of the Lord, and he worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and he asked them to place bread before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, Why have you been acting in this way? you were weeping and going without food while the child was still living; but when the child was dead, you got up and had a meal.
But his servants said to him: “What is this word that you have done? You fasted and were weeping, on behalf of the infant, while he was still alive. But when the boy was dead, you arose and ate bread.”
22 And he said, While the child was still living I went without food and gave myself up to weeping: for I said, Who is able to say that the Lord will not have mercy on me and give the child life?
And he said: “While he was yet alive, I fasted and wept on behalf of the infant. For I said: Who knows if the Lord may perhaps give him to me, and let the infant live?
23 But now that the child is dead there is no reason for me to go without food; am I able to make him come back to life? I will go to him, but he will never come back to me.
But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Would I be able to bring him back anymore? Instead, I will go to him. Yet truly, he will not return to me.”
24 And David gave comfort to his wife Bath-sheba, and he went in to her and had connection with her: and she had a son to whom she gave the name Solomon. And he was dear to the Lord.
And David consoled his wife Bathsheba. And entering to her, he slept with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him.
25 And he sent word by Nathan the prophet, who gave him the name Jedidiah, by the word of the Lord.
And he sent, by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name, Beloved of the Lord, because the Lord loved him.
26 Now Joab was fighting against Rabbah, in the land of the children of Ammon, and he took the water-town.
And then Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and he fought outside the royal city.
27 And Joab sent men to David, saying, I have made war against Rabbah and have taken the water-town.
And Joab sent messengers to David, saying: “I have struggled against Rabbah, and so the City of Waters will soon be seized.
28 So now, get the rest of the people together, and put them in position against the town and take it, for if I take it, it will be named after my name.
Now therefore, gather the remaining portion of the people together, and besiege the city and take it. Otherwise, when the city will have been laid waste by me, the victory will be ascribed to my name.”
29 Then David got all the people together and went to Rabbah and made war on it and took it.
And so David gathered together all the people, and he set out against Rabbah. And after he had fought, he seized it.
30 And he took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it were stones of great price; and it was put on David's head. And he took a great store of goods from the town.
And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, having the most precious gems. And it was placed upon the head of David. Moreover, he carried away the spoils of the city, which were very many.
31 And he took the people out of the town and put them to work with wood-cutting instruments, and iron grain-crushers, and iron axes, and at brick-making: this he did to all the towns of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people went back to Jerusalem.
Also, bringing forth its people, he sawed them, and he drove over them with iron wagons, and he divided them with knives, and he dragged them through brick kilns. So he did to all the citizens of the sons of Ammon. And David returned, with the entire army, to Jerusalem.
