2 Samuel 12
1 And YHWH sends Nathan to David, and he comes to him, and says to him: “Two men have been in one city, one rich and one poor.
The Lord sent Nathan to see David. When he got there, he said, “Once there were two men living in the same town. One was rich, and one was poor.
2 The rich has very many flocks and herds,
The rich man had many thousands of sheep and cattle,
3 but the poor one has nothing, except one little ewe-lamb which he has bought and keeps alive. And it grows up together with him and with his sons. It eats of his morsel, and it drinks from his cup, and it lies in his bosom, and it is as a daughter to him.
but the poor man didn't have anything but one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He cared for it, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his plate and drank from his cup. It slept on his lap and was like a daughter to him.
4 And a traveler comes to the rich man, and he spares to take from his own flock, and from his own herd, to prepare for the traveling [man] who has come to him; and he takes the ewe-lamb of the poor man and prepares it for the man who has come to him.”
One day the rich man had a visitor. He didn't want to take one of his own sheep or cattle to feed his visitor. He took the poor man's lamb instead to prepare a meal for his visitor.”
5 And the anger of David burns against the man exceedingly, and he says to Nathan, “YHWH lives, surely the man who is doing this [is] a son of death,
David became absolutely furious with what that man did, and angrily told Nathan. “As the Lord lives, the man who did this should be put to death!
6 and [for] the ewe-lamb he repays fourfold, because that he has done this thing, and because that he had no pity.”
He must repay that lamb with four of his own for doing this, for being so heartless.”
7 And Nathan says to David, “You [are] the man! Thus said YHWH, God of Israel: I anointed you for king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul;
“You are that man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel, and I saved you from Saul.
8 and I give to you the house of your lord, and the wives of your lord, into your bosom, and I give the house of Israel and Judah to you; and if [that is] too little, then I add such and such [things] to you.
I gave your master's house to you and placed your master's wives in your lap. I gave you the kingdom of Israel and Judah, and if that hadn't been enough, I would have given you so much more.
9 Why have you despised the word of YHWH, to do evil in His eyes? You have struck Uriah the Hittite by the sword, and you have taken his wife for a wife for yourself, and you have slain him by the sword of the sons of Ammon.
So why have you treated what Lord said with contempt by doing evil in his sight? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and stole his wife—you killed him using the sword of the Ammonites.
10 And now, the sword does not turn aside from your house for all time, because you have despised Me, and take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be for a wife for yourself;
So your descendants will always face the sword that kills because you treated me with contempt and stole Uriah's wife.
11 thus said YHWH: Behold, I am raising up calamity against you, out of your [own] house, and have taken your wives before your eyes, and given [them] to your neighbor, and he has lain with your wives before the eyes of this sun;
This is what the Lord says: I'm going to bring disaster in you from your own family. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to someone else, and he will sleep openly with your wives where everyone can see.
12 for you have done [it] in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
You did it all in secret, but I will do it openly where everyone in all of Israel can see.”
13 And David says to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHWH.” And Nathan says to David, “Also—YHWH has caused your sin to pass away; you do not die;
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” “The Lord has forgiven your sins. You're not going to die,” Nathan replied.
14 only, because you have caused the enemies of YHWH to greatly despise by this thing, also—the son who is born to you surely dies.”
“But because by doing this you have treated the Lord with complete contempt, the son you have will die.”
15 And Nathan goes to his house, and YHWH strikes the boy, whom the wife of Uriah has borne to David, and it is incurable;
Then Nathan went home. The Lord made the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David become very sick.
16 and David seeks God for the youth, and David keeps a fast, and has gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.
David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy. He fasted, went to his bedroom, and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17 And [the] elderly of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he has not been willing, nor has he eaten bread with them;
His senior officials approached him and tried to help him up from the ground, but he didn't want to, and he refused their appeals to eat.
18 and it comes to pass on the seventh day, that the boy dies, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the boy is dead, for they said, “Behold, in the boy being alive we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice; and how do we say to him, The boy is dead? Then he has done evil.”
On the seventh day the child died. But David's officials were scared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said to each other, “Look, while the child was still alive, we talked with him, and he refused to listen to us. How on earth can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something really bad!”
19 And David sees that his servants are whispering, and David understands that the boy is dead, and David says to his servants, “Is the boy dead?” And they say, “Dead.”
But David saw his officials were whispering among themselves, he realized that the child was dead. So he asked his officials, “Did the child die?” “Yes, he died,” they replied.
20 And David rises from the earth, and bathes and anoints [himself], and changes his raiment, and comes into the house of YHWH, and bows himself, and comes to his house, and asks and they place bread for him, and he eats.
David got up from the ground, washed and put on scented oils, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. Afterwards he went back home, and asked for some food. So they served him a meal which he ate.
21 And his servants say to him, “What [is] this thing you have done? Because of the living boy you have fasted and you weep, and when the boy is dead you have risen and eat bread.”
“Why are you acting like this?” his officials asked him. “While the child was still alive, you fasted and cried aloud, but now that he's dead, you get up and eat.”
22 And he says, “While the boy is alive I have fasted and I weep, for I said, Who knows [if] YHWH pities me and the boy has lived?
David replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and cried aloud, for I thought to myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will be gracious to me and let him live.’
23 And now, he has died, why [is] this—I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I am going to him, and he does not return to me.”
But now that he's dead, what's the point for me to go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? One day I will die and go to him, but he will never come back to me.”
24 And David comforts his wife Bathsheba, and goes in to her, and lies with her, and she bears a son, and he calls his name Solomon; and YHWH has loved him,
David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and he made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child,
25 and sends by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calls his name Jedidiah, because of YHWH.
so he sent a message through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him.
26 And Joab fights against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captures the royal city,
At this time Joab had been fighting against the Ammonite town of Rabbah, and had captured the royal fortress.
27 and Joab sends messengers to David and says, “I have fought against Rabbah—I have also captured the city of waters;
Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, “I have attacked Rabbah and I have also captured its water supply.
28 and now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name has been called on it.”
So please call up the rest of the army, besiege the town, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and I will get the credit.”
29 And David gathers all the people, and goes to Rabbah, and fights against it, and captures it;
So David called up the rest of the army and marched on Rabbah. He attacked it and captured it.
30 and he takes the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight [is] a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and he has brought out the spoil of the city—very much;
He took the crown from the head of their king, and it was placed on David's head. It weighed a talent of gold and was decorated with precious stones. David took a large amount of plunder from the town.
31 and he has brought out the people who [are] in it, and sets [them] to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and has caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he does to all the cities of the sons of Ammon; and David turns back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.
David took the inhabitants and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he also made them work making bricks. He did the same in all the Ammonite towns. Then David and the whole Israelite army returned to Jerusalem.
