Second Samuel Chapter 12
1 The Lord sent Nathan to David and he came to him and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor.
2 The rich one had exceeding many flocks and herds.
3 The poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought and nourished up. It grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom and was like a daughter to him.
4 There came a traveler to the rich man and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the traveler that had come to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for the man who had come to him.
5 David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this must surely die.
6 He shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this and because he had no pity.
7 Nathan said to David, You are the man. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel and I delivered you from Saul.
8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your bosom and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. If that was too little, I would have given to you such and such things besides.
9 Why have you despised the Word of the Lord to do evil in His sight? You have stricken Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Therefore, the sword will never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says the Lord, Behold, 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. He will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For you did it secretly. But I will do this before all Israel and before the sun.
13 David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin. You will not die.
14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, this child born to you will surely die.
15 Nathan left to go to his house and the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David and it was very sick.
16 David prayed to God for the child. David fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth.
17 The elders of his house rose toward him to raise him up from the earth. But he would not. Nor did he eat bread with them.
18 On the seventh day, the child died. The servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, Behold, while the child was still alive we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voice. How then will he trouble himself if we tell him that the child is dead?
19 But David saw that his servants whispered and he understood that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, Is the boy dead? They said, He is dead.
20 David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing and came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his house and commanded and they brought bread before him and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the living boy but when the child was dead you arose and ate bread.
22 He said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, Who can tell if God will be gracious to me so that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him but he will not return to me.
24 David comforted his wife Bathsheba and he went in to her and lay with her and she bore a son and named him Solomon. And the Lord loved him.
25 He sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet and named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon and took the royal city.
27 Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah and have taken the city of waters.
28 Therefore gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and take it lest I take the city and it be called after my name.
29 David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it.
30 He took the king's crown from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, with a precious stone in it. Then it was set on David's head and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31 He brought forth the people who were in it and put them to the saw and to sharpen tools of iron and to axes of iron. He made them go over to the brick kiln. He did this to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.