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;
Then Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were once two men in a city. One man was rich and the other poor.
2 The rich hath flocks and herds very many;
The rich man had huge numbers of 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 bought and fed and raised. It grew up together with him and with his children. The lamb even ate with him and drank from his own cup, and it slept in his arms and 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.'
One day a visitor came to the rich man, but the rich man was unwilling to take an animal from his own flocks and herds to provide food for him. Instead he took the poor man's ewe lamb and cooked it for his visitor.”
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,
David was hot with anger against the rich man, and he raged to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to be put to 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 pay back the lamb four times over because he did such a thing, and because he had no pity on the poor man.”
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 that man! Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued 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 arms. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. But if that had been too little, I would have given you many other things in addition.
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.
So why have you despised the commands of Yahweh, so as to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your own wife. You killed him with the sword of the army 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;
So now the sword will never leave your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite as 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;
Yahweh says, 'Look, I will raise up disaster against you out of your own house. Before your own eyes, I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.
12 for thou hast done [it] in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'
For you committed your sin secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, in the sunlight.'”
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;
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan replied to David, “Yahweh also has passed over your sin. You will not be killed.
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 act you have despised Yahweh, the child who is born to you will 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 left and went home. Yahweh attacked the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he 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.
David then implored God for the boy. David fasted and went inside and lay all night on the floor.
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;
The elders of his house arose and stood beside him, to raise him up from the floor, but he would not get up, and he would not eat 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 came about on the seventh day that the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was still alive we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. What might he do to himself if we tell him that the boy 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 saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead. He said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They answered, “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 floor and washed himself, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went to the tabernacle of Yahweh and worshiped there, and then he came back to his own palace. When he asked for it, they set food 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, “Why have you done this? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you got up and ate.”
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;
David answered, “While the child was still alive I fasted and wept. I said, 'Who knows whether or not Yahweh will 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, so why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will 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 slept with her. Later she gave birth to a son, and the child was named Solomon. Yahweh loved him
25 and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.
and he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah, because Yahweh loved him.
26 And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and he captured 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;
So Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's 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 hath been called upon it.'
Now therefore gather the rest of the army together and camp against the city and take it, because if I take the city, it will be named after me.”
29 And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;
So David gathered all the army together and went to Rabbah; he fought against the city and captured 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;
David took the crown from their king's head—it weighed a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it. The crown was placed on David's own head. Then he brought out the plunder of the city in large quantities.
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 the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes; he also made them work at brick kilns. David required all the cities of the people of Ammon to do this labor. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
