2 Samuel 12

Nathan Rebukes David

1Then the Lord sent 1Nathan to David. And 2he came to him and 3said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.2The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.3But the poor man had nothing except 4one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his 5bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.4Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he 6was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this 78deserves to die. 6He must make restitution for the lamb 9fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

7Nathan then said to David, “10You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘11It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I also gave you 12your master’s house and your master’s wives into your 13care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! 9Why 14have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? 15You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, 16have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10Now therefore, 17the 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 raise up evil against you from your own household; 18I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in 19broad daylight. 12Indeed 20you did it secretly, but 21I will do this thing before all Israel, and 22under the sun.’” 13Then David said to Nathan, “23I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has 2425taken away your sin; you shall not die. 14However, because by this deed you have 26given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”

Loss of a Child

15So Nathan went to his house.

Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s 27widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. 16David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David 28fasted and went and 29lay all night on the ground. 1730The elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. 18Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!” 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20So David arose from the ground, 31washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and 32worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.

21Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? 33While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22He said, “While the child was still alive, 34I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘35Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ 23But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? 36I will go to him, but 37he will not return to me.”

Solomon Born

24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and 3839he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him 25and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him 40Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

War Again

2641Now Joab fought against 42Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and captured the royal city. 27Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters. 28Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.” 29So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it. 30Then 43he took the crown of 44their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it 45was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in great amounts. 31He also brought out the people who were in it, and 46set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.