2 Samuel 12

Nathan Rebukes David

1And the LORD sent Nathan [the prophet] to David. He came and said to him, “There were two men in a city, one rich and the other poor. 2“The rich man had a very large number of flocks and herds, 3But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb
Which he had purchased and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It ate his food, drank from his cup, it lay in his arms,
And was like a daughter to him. 4“Now a traveler (visitor) came to the rich man,
And to avoid taking one from his own flock or herd
To prepare [a meal] for the traveler who had come to him,
He took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for his guest.”

5Then David’s anger burned intensely against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. 6“He shall make restitution for the ewe lamb four times as much [as the lamb was worth], because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul. 8‘I also gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your care and under your protection, and I gave you the house (royal dynasty) of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have given you much more! 9‘Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10‘Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will stir up evil against you from your own household; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’” 13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has allowed your sin to pass [without further punishment]; you shall not die. 14“Nevertheless, because by this deed you have given [a great] opportunity to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme [Him], the son that is born to you shall certainly die.” 15Then Nathan went [back] to his home.

Loss of a Child 16> And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, and he was very sick. 17David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 18The elders of his household stood by him [in the night] to lift him up from the ground, but he was unwilling [to get up] and would not eat food with them. 19Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices. How then can we tell him the child is dead, since he might harm himself [or us]?” 20But when David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he realized that the child was dead. So David said to them, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 21Then David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself [with olive oil], changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he came [back] to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate.

22Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive you fasted and wept, but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” 23David said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me and the child may live.’ 24“But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”

Solomon Born 25David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. And the LORD loved the child; 26and He sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah (beloved of the LORD) for the sake of the LORD [who loved the child].

War Again 27Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. 28Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; I have even taken the city of waters. 29“So now, assemble the rest of the men, and camp against the city and capture it, or I will take the city myself, and it will be named after me.” 30So David gathered all the men together and went to Rabbah, then fought against it and captured it. 31And he took the crown of their king from his head; it weighed a talent of gold, and [set in it was] a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought the spoil out of the city in great amounts. 32He also brought out the people who were there, and put them to [work with] the saws and sharp iron instruments and iron axes, and made them work at the brickkiln. And he did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the men returned to Jerusalem.