Chapter 12

And the LORD sent⁴ Nathan unto David. And he came⁴ unto him, and said⁴ unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.⁶

The rich [man] had exceeding many⁵³ flocks and herds:

But the poor⁶ [man] had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought¹ and nourished up:¹⁷ and it grew up⁴ together with him, and with his children; it did eat⁴ of his own meat, and drank⁴ of his own cup, and lay⁴ in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

And there came⁴ a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared⁴ to take² of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress² for the wayfaring man⁶ that was come⁶ unto him; but took⁴ the poor⁶ man's lamb, and dressed⁴ it for the man that was come⁶ to him.

And David's anger was greatly kindled⁴ against the man; and he said⁴ to Nathan, [As] the LORD liveth, the man that hath done⁶ this [thing] shall surely die:

And he shall restore¹⁷ the lamb fourfold, because he did¹ this thing, and because he had no pity.¹

And Nathan said⁴ to David, Thou [art] the man. Thus saith¹ the LORD God of Israel, I anointed¹ thee king over Israel, and I delivered⁵² thee out of the hand of Saul;

And I gave⁴ thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave⁴ thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if [that had been] too little, I would moreover have given⁵⁵ unto thee such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised¹ the commandment of the LORD, to do² evil in his sight? thou hast killed⁵² Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken¹ his wife [to be] thy wife, and hast slain¹ him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

Now therefore the sword shall never ^{5704 5769} depart⁴ from thine house; because thou hast despised¹ me, and hast taken⁴ the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Thus saith¹ the LORD, Behold, I will raise up⁵⁶ evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take¹ thy wives before thine eyes, and give¹ [them] unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie¹ with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

For thou didst¹ [it] secretly: but I will do⁴ this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

And David said⁴ unto Nathan, I have sinned¹ against the LORD. And Nathan said⁴ unto David, The LORD also hath put away⁵² thy sin; thou shalt not die.⁴

Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great¹⁵ occasion to the enemies⁶ of the LORD to blaspheme,¹⁴ the child also [that is] born unto thee shall surely² die.⁴

And Nathan departed⁴ unto his house. And the LORD struck⁴ the child that Uriah's wife bare¹ unto David, and it was very sick.¹¹

David therefore besought¹⁷ God for the child; and David fasted,^{4 6685} and went in,¹ and lay¹ all night¹ upon the earth.

And the elders of his house arose,⁴ [and went] to him, to raise him up⁵³ from the earth: but he would¹ not, neither did he eat¹ bread with them.

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.⁴ And the servants of David feared⁴ to tell⁵³ him that the child was dead:¹ for they said,¹ Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake¹⁴ unto him, and he would not hearken¹ unto our voice: how will he then¹ vex himself, if we tell⁴ him that the child is dead?¹

But when David saw⁴ that his servants whispered,¹⁰² David perceived⁴ that the child was dead:¹ therefore David said⁴ unto his servants, Is the child dead?¹ And they said,⁴ He is dead.¹

Then David arose⁴ from the earth, and washed,⁴ and anointed⁵⁵ [himself], and changed¹⁷ his apparel, and came⁴ into the house of the LORD, and worshipped:¹⁰¹ then he came⁴ to his own house; and when he required,⁴ they set⁴ bread before him, and he did eat.⁴

Then said⁴ his servants unto him, What thing [is] this that thou hast done?¹ thou didst fast¹ and weep⁴ for the child, [while it was] alive; but when the child was dead,¹ thou didst rise¹ and eat⁴ bread.

And he said,⁴ While the child was yet alive, I fasted¹ and wept:⁴ for I said,¹ Who can tell⁶ [whether] GOD will be gracious^{1 2603 17} to me, that the child may live?

But now he is dead,¹ wherefore should I fast?⁶ can⁴ I bring him back again?⁵³ I shall go⁶ to him, but he shall not return⁴ to me.

And David comforted¹⁷ Bathsheba his wife, and went in⁴ unto her, and lay⁴ with her: and she bare⁴ a son, and he called⁴ his name Solomon: and the LORD loved¹ him.

And he sent⁴ by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called⁴ his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

And Joab fought¹¹ against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took⁴ the royal city.

And Joab sent⁴ messengers to David, and said,⁴ I have fought⁸ against Rabbah, and have taken¹ the city of waters.

Now therefore gather³ the rest of the people together, and encamp³ against the city, and take³ it: lest I take⁴ the city, and it be called⁸ after my name.

And David gathered⁴ all the people together, and went⁴ to Rabbah, and fought¹¹ against it, and took⁴ it.

And he took⁴ their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof [was] a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was [set] on David's head. And he brought forth⁵² the spoil of the city in great abundance.⁵³

And he brought forth⁵² the people that [were] therein, and put⁴ [them] under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass⁵² through the brickkiln: and thus did⁴ he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned⁴ unto Jerusalem.