< 2 Samuel 12 >

1 And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: 'Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;
So the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, "Tell me how you judge this case. There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich hath flocks and herds very many;
The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
3 And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;
but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had acquired. And he raised it and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and sleep in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4 And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
Now a traveler came to the rich man, but he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the traveler who had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, 'Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death [is] the man who is doing this,
Then David became very angry with that man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves death.
6 and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'
He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7 And Nathan saith unto David, 'Thou [art] the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man. This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8 and I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such [things].
I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your care, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things.
9 'Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.
Why have you despised the LORD, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hethite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
10 'And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;
Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hethite to be your wife.'
11 thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;
"This is what the LORD says: 'Look, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 for thou hast done [it] in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'
For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'"
13 And David saith unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, 'Also — Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;
David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin. You will not die.
14 only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'
However, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."
15 And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;
Then Nathan went to his home. And God struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
16 and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.
Then David sought from God on behalf of the child. And David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17 And the elders of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing, nor hath he eaten with them bread;
And the elders of his house approached him to lift him up from the ground, but he was unwilling, and he would not eat food with them.
18 and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the lad is dead, for they said, 'Lo, in the lad being alive we spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto him, The lad is dead? — then he hath done evil.'
It happened on the seventh day, that the child died. The servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, "Look, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. How will he then harm himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?"
19 And David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, 'Is the lad dead?' and they say, 'Dead.'
But when David noticed that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
20 And David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint [himself], and changeth his raiment, and cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.
Then David arose from the ground, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing; and he came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and he asked for bread to eat. And they set bread before him, and he ate.
21 And his servants say unto him, 'What [is] this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.'
Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept and kept vigil for the child while he was alive; but when the child was dead, you rose up and ate bread."
22 And he saith, 'While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? — Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;
He said, "While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows whether the LORD will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?'
23 and now, he hath died, why [is] this — I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'
But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
24 And David comforteth Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,
David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. The LORD loved him;
25 and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.
and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he named him Jedidiah, for the LORD's sake.
26 And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, 'I have fought against Rabbah — also I have captured the city of waters;
Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and have also taken the water supply of the city.
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 hath been called upon it.'
Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and besiege the city and capture it yourself, or I will capture the city, and it will be named after me."
29 And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;
David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 and he taketh 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 the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;
He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David's head. He brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.
31 and the people who [are] in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.
He brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, and iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at the brick kiln. And he did the same to all the cities of the people of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

< 2 Samuel 12 >