2Sa 12 | ABEn | STEP | And the lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. And he entered to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city -- one rich and one needy.

‏ 2 Samuel 12

CHAPTER 12 Nathan Confronts David

1 And the lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. And he entered to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city -- one rich and one needy. 2 And there was to the rich man flocks and herds -- many, exceedingly. 3 And to the needy there was not anything, but only [³ewe-lamb ¹one ²small] which he acquired, and protected, and nourished it. And it matured with him, and with his sons at the same time. [²from ³his bread ¹It ate], and [²from ³his cup ¹it drank], and [²in ³his bosom ¹it slept], and it was to him as a daughter. 4 And [²came ¹a traveller] to the [²man ¹rich]. And he spared to take from his flock, and from his herd, to prepare for the stranger coming to him. And he took the ewe-lamb of the [²man ¹needy]; and he prepared it for the man coming to him. 5 And [²was enraged ³in anger ¹David] exceedingly against the man. And he said to Nathan, As the lord lives, that [⁴is a son ⁵of death ¹man ²doing ³this]. 6 And for the ewe-lamb he shall pay four-fold, because he did this thing, and for which he did not spare. 7 And Nathan said to David, You are the man, the one doing this thing. Thus says the lord God of Israel, I anointed you for king over Israel, and I rescued you from out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave to you the house of your master, and the wives of your master into your bosom, and I gave to you the house of Israel and Judah. And if [²little ³to you ¹it is], I would have added to you as those.

Judgment Pronounced on David

9 Why is it that you treated as worthless the word of the lord, to do the wicked thing in his eyes? Uriah the Hittite you struck by the broadsword, and his wife you took to yourself for wife, and him you killed by the broadsword of the sons of Ammon. 10 And now, [²shall not ³depart ¹the broadsword] from your house unto the eon. Because of this, for you treated me with contempt, and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to you for a wife. 11 Thus says the lord, Behold, I shall awaken [²against ³you ¹evils] from out of your house, and I shall take your wives before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall go to bed with your wives before this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before this sun. 13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the lord. And Nathan said to David, And the lord cast aside your sin, and you shall not die. 14 Except that, in provoking to anger, you provoked to anger the enemies of the lord in this thing, and indeed your son, the one born to you, to death he will die. 15 And Nathan went forth to his house. And the lord enfeebled the child which [³bore ¹the wife ²of Uriah] unto David, and he was ill. 16 And David sought God for the boy. And David fasted with fasting, and he entered and lodged upon the ground. 17 And [⁴rose up ¹the ²elders ³of his house] to him, to raise him from the ground, and he did not want, and he would not eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass in [³day ¹the ²seventh], and [³died ¹the ²boy]. And [⁴feared ¹the ²servants ³of David] to announce to him that, [³has died ¹The ²boy]. For they said, Behold, while the boy was still living, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. And how should we say to him that, [³has died ¹The ²boy]. For he shall do bad things. 19 And David perceived that his servants were whispering, and David comprehended that [³has died ¹the ²boy]. And David said to his servants, Has [³died ¹the ²boy]? And they said, He has died. 20 And David rose up from the ground, and bathed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. And he entered into the house of God, and did obeisance to him. And he entered unto his house, and asked for bread to eat. And they placed near him bread, and he ate. 21 And [²said ¹his servants] to him, What is this thing which you do because of the boy? While still living you fasted, and wept, and were sleepless; and when [³died ¹the ²boy] you rose up and ate bread and drank? 22 And David said, While the boy was still living, I fasted and wept. For I said, Who knows if [²will show mercy ³on me ¹the lord], and [³shall live ¹the ²boy]? 23 And now he has died, why this that I fast? I shall not be able to return him, yet I will go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Birth of Solomon

24 And David comforted his wife Bath-sheba. And he entered to her, and went to bed with her, and she conceived, and gave birth to a son, and called his name Solomon. And the lord loved him. 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and called his name Jedidiah, by the word of the lord. 26 And Joab waged war with Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and he overtook the city of the kingdom. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I waged war against Rabbah, and overtook the city of waters. 28 And now, gather together the rest of the people, and camp upon the city, and be the first to take it! that [²should not ³be the first to take ¹I] the city, and [²should be called ¹my name] upon it. 29 And David gathered together all the people, and he went to Rabbah, and waged war against it, and overtook it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. And its weight was a talent of gold, and [²stone ¹of precious]. And it was upon the head of David. And [⁴spoils ⁵of the ⁶city ¹he brought forth ³much ²exceedingly]. 31 And the people, the one in it, he led out and put them to the saw, and to the threshing-machines of iron, and adz of iron. And he led them through the brick-kiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David returned and all the people to Jerusalem.