2 Samuel 12

¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and one poor.

² The rich man had a very large number of flocks and herds.

³ 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 with his children. It would eat from his morsel, drink from his cup, and lie in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ A traveler came to the rich man, but he was unwilling to take from his own flock or herd to prepare something for the visitor who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

⁵ David's anger blazed against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

⁶ He must pay for the ewe lamb four times over, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."

⁷ 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 from the hand of Saul.

⁸ I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that were too little, I would have added to you so much more.

⁹ Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

¹¹ "This is what the LORD says: 'I am going to raise up evil against you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel, in broad daylight.'"

¹³ David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan said to David, "The LORD has also put away your sin — you will not die.

¹⁴ However, because you have utterly scorned the LORD by this deed, the son who is born to you will certainly die."

¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child. David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to raise him from the ground, but he was not willing and would not eat food with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "While the child was alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself harm."

¹⁹ But David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, and David understood that the child was dead. David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."

²⁰ Then David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate.

²¹ His servants said to him, "What is this you are doing? While the child was alive you fasted and wept, but when the child died, you got up and ate food!"

²² He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.'

²³ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

²⁴ David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. The LORD loved him,

²⁵ and he sent word through Nathan the prophet, who named him Jedidiah, for the LORD's sake.

²⁶ Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city.

²⁷ Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah; I have also captured the water city.

²⁸ Now gather the rest of the forces, encamp against the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city and it will be called by my name."

²⁹ So David gathered all the forces, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.

³⁰ He took the crown from the head of their king — its weight was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone — and it was placed on David's head. He brought out a very large amount of plunder from the city.

³¹ He brought out the people who were in it and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and put them to work at the brick kilns. He did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the forces returned to Jerusalem.