2 Samuel 12
1 Then the Lord sent Nathan vnto Dauid, who came to him, and sayd vnto him, There were two men in one citie, the one riche, and the other poore.
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many sheepe and oxen:
The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,
3 But the poore had none at all, saue one litle sheepe which he had bought, and nourished vp: and it grew vp with him, and with his children also, and did eate of his owne morsels, and dranke of his owne cup, and slept in his bosome, and was vnto him as his daughter.
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.
4 Now there came a stranger vnto the rich man, who refused to take of his owne sheepe, and of his owne oxen to dresse for the stranger that was come vnto him, but tooke the poore mans sheepe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
5 Then Dauid was exceeding wroth with the man, and sayde to Nathan, As the Lord liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely dye,
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 And he shall restore the lambe foure folde, because he did this thing, and had no pitie thereof.
Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
7 Then Nathan sayd to Dauid, Thou art the man. Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, I anoynted thee King ouer Israel, and deliuered thee out of the hand of Saul,
Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 And gaue thee thy lordes house, and thy lords wiues into thy bosome, and gaue thee the house of Israel, and of Iudah, and would moreouer (if that had bene too litle) haue giuen thee such and such things.
I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandement of the Lord, to doe euill in his sight? thou hast killed Vriah the Hittite with ye sworde, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slaine him with the sworde of the children of Ammon.
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now therefore the sworde shall neuer depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and taken the wife of Vriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 Thus sayth the Lord, Behold, I will rayse vp euil against thee out of thine owne house, and will take thy wiues before thine eyes, and giue them vnto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wiues in the sight of this sunne.
This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
12 For thou diddest it secretly: but I will doe this thing before all Israel, and before the sunne.
You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 Then Dauid sayde vnto Nathan, I haue sinned against the Lord. And Nathan sayde vnto Dauid, The Lord also hath put away thy sinne, thou shalt not die.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
14 Howbeit because by this deede thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the childe that is borne vnto thee shall surely die.
Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
15 So Nathan departed vnto his house: and the Lord stroke the childe that Vriahs wife bare vnto Dauid, and it was sicke.
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
16 Dauid therefore besought God for the childe, and fasted and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17 Then the Elders of his house arose to come vnto him, and to cause him to rise from the groud: but he would not, neither did he eate meate with them.
The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18 So on the seuenth day the child dyed: and the seruants of Dauid feared to tell him that the childe was dead: for they sayde, Beholde, while the childe was aliue, we spake vnto him, and he woulde not hearken vnto our voyce: how then shall we say vnto him, The childe is dead, to vexe him more?
On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”
19 But when Dauid sawe that his seruantes whispered, Dauid perceiued that the childe was dead: therefore Dauid sayde vnto his seruants, Is the childe dead? And they sayd, He is dead.
When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied.
20 Then Dauid arose from the earth, and washed and anoynted himselfe, and changed his apparell, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped, and afterward came to his owne house, and bade that they should set bread before him, and he did eate.
Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.
21 Then saide his seruants vnto him, What thing is this, that thou hast done? thou diddest fast and weepe for the childe while it was aliue, but when the childe was dead, thou diddest rise vp, and eate meate.
“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”
22 And he sayde, While the childe was yet aliue, I fasted, and wept: for I sayde, Who can tell whether God will haue mercy on me, that the childe may liue?
David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’
23 But now being dead, wherefore shoulde I now fast? Can I bring him againe any more? I shall goe to him, but he shall not returne to me.
But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 And Dauid comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in vnto her, and lay with her, and she bare a sonne, and he called his name Salomon: also the Lord loued him.
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
25 For the Lord had sent by Nathan the Prophet: therefore he called his name Iedidiah, because the Lord loued him.
and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.
26 Then Ioab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and tooke the citie of the kingdome.
Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
27 Therefore Ioab sent messengers to Dauid, saying, I haue fought against Rabbah, and haue taken the citie of waters.
Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and besiege the city, that thou mayest take it, lest the victorie be attributed to me.
Now, therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”
29 So Dauid gathered al the people together, and went against Rabbah, and besieged it, and tooke it.
So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it.
30 And he tooke their Kings crowne from his head, (which weighed a talent of golde, with precious stones) and it was set on Dauids head: and he brought away the spoyle of the citie in exceeding great abundance.
Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.
31 And he carryed away the people that was therein, and put them vnder sawes, and vnder yron harowes, and vnder axes of yron, and cast them into the tyle kylne: euen thus did he with all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then Dauid and all the people returned vnto Ierusalem.
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
