1And Jehovah sent Nathan unto David . And he came unto him , and said unto him , There were two men in one city ; the one rich , and the other poor . 2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds ; 3but the poor man had nothing , save one little ewe lamb , which he had bought and nourished up : and it grew up together with him , and with his children ; it did eat of his own morsel , and drank of his own cup , and lay in his bosom , and was unto him as a daughter . 4And there came a traveller unto the rich man , and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd , to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him , but took the poor man ’s lamb , and dressed it for the man that was come to him . 5And David ’s anger was greatly kindled against the man ; and he said to Nathan , As Jehovah liveth , the man that hath done this is worthy to die : 6and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing , and because he had no pity . 7And Nathan said to David , Thou art the man. Thus saith Jehovah , the God of Israel , I anointed thee king over Israel , and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul ; 8and I gave thee thy master ’s house , and thy master ’s wives into thy bosom , and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah ; and if that had been too little , I would have added unto thee such and such things . 9Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah , to do that which is evil in his sight ? thou hast smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword , and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon .
David's Confession and Nathan's Response
10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house , because thou hast despised me , and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11Thus saith Jehovah , Behold , I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house ; and I will take thy wives before thine eyes , and give them unto thy neighbor , and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun . 12For thou didst it secretly : but I will do this thing before all Israel , and before the sun . 13And David said unto Nathan , I have sinned against Jehovah . And Nathan said unto David , Jehovah also hath put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die . 14Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme , the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die .
The Consequences of David's Sin
15And Nathan departed unto his house . And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David , and it was very sick. 16David therefore besought God for the child ; and David fasted , and went in , and lay all night upon the earth. 17And the elders of his house arose , and stood beside him , to raise him up from the earth: but he would not , neither did he eat bread with them . 18And it came to pass on the seventh day , that the child died . And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead ; for they said , Behold , while the child was yet alive , we spake unto him , and he hearkened not unto our voice : how will he then vex himself , if we tell him that the child is dead ! 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead ; and David said unto his servants , Is the child dead ? And they said, He is dead . 20Then David arose from the earth, and washed , and anointed himself , and changed his apparel ; and he came into the house of Jehovah , and worshipped : then he came to his own house ; and when he required , they set bread before him , and he did eat . 21Then said his servants unto him , What thing is this that thou hast done ? thou didst fast and weep for the child , while it was alive ; but when the child was dead , thou didst rise and eat bread . 22And he said, While the child was yet alive , I fasted and wept : for I said, Who knoweth whether Jehovah will not be gracious to me , that the child may live ? 23But now he is dead , wherefore should I fast ? can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him , but he will not return to me . 24And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her , and lay with her : and she bare a son , and he called his name Solomon . And Jehovah loved him ; 25and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet ; and he called his name Jedidiah , for Jehovah ’s sake . 26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon , and took the royal city . 27And Joab sent messengers to David , and said, I have fought against Rabbah ; yea , I have taken the city of waters . 28Now therefore gather the rest of the people together , and encamp against the city , and take it ; lest I take the city , and it be called after my name . 29And David gathered all the people together , and went to Rabbah , and fought against it , and took it . 30And he took the crown of their king from off his head ; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold , and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David ’s head . And he brought forth the spoil of the city , exceeding much . 31And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws , and under harrows of iron , and under axes of iron , and made them pass through the brickkiln : and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon . And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem .