2 Samuel 12
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. He went to David and said to him, “There were two men in a city, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had very many sheep and cattle.
3 The poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb. He had bought it and raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It ate from his food, drank from his cup, and slept in his arms; it was like a daughter to him.
4 A traveler came to the rich man’s house. The rich man was unwilling to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the guest who had come to him, so he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 David was furious with the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 He must pay back the lamb four times over, because he did this thing and showed no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel and rescued you from Saul.
8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the people of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I would have given you even more.
9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD and do what is evil in my eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now the sword will never leave your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’”
11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am bringing disaster on you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’”
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan said to David, “The LORD has also taken away your sin; you will not die.
14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the enemies of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
15 Then Nathan went home. The LORD struck the child whom Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became very ill.
16 David pleaded with God for the boy. David fasted, and when he went in to spend the night, he lay on the ground.
17 The elders of his household stood over him to raise him from the ground, but he would not get up, nor would he eat with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child had died, because they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do something terrible!”
19 David saw his servants whispering among themselves and realized that the child had died. David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They answered, “He is dead.”
20 David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, asked for food, and they served him bread, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, “Why have you done this? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child is dead, you have got up and eaten.”
22 He replied, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, because I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may have pity on me, and the child may live.’
23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 David comforted Bathsheba, his wife. He went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and she named him Solomon. The LORD loved him.
25 Through the prophet Nathan, the LORD sent word that he should be called Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city.
27 Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have also captured the city of the waters.
28 Now gather the rest of the people, camp against the city, and capture it, so that I will not be the one to capture the city and have my name proclaimed over it.”
29 David gathered all the people, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.
30 He took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and had a precious stone in it, and it was placed on David’s head. He carried a very great amount of plunder out of the city.
31 He also brought out the people who were in it and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
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