“1 And the LORD 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. 2 The rich [man] had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But 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 meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay
in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And 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. 5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he
said to Nathan, [As] the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this
[thing] shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said
to David, Thou [art] the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I
anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of
Saul; 8 And 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 moreover have given unto thee such and
such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD,
to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed 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. 10 Now therefore the sword shall
never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast
taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the
LORD, 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
neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12
For thou didst [it] secretly: but I will do this thing before all
Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned
against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put
away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou
hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the
child also [that is] born unto thee shall surely die.”
“15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child
that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David
therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and
lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, [and
went] to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither
did he eat bread with them. 18 And 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 would not hearken unto our voice: how
will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But
when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the
child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child
dead? And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and
washed, and anointed [himself], and changed his apparel, and came into
the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house;
and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21 Then
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. 22 And he said, While
the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell
[whether] GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But
now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I
shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. 24 And David comforted
Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare
a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. 25 And he
sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah,
because of the LORD.”
“26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took
the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have
fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. 28 Now
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.
29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and
fought against it, and took it. 30 And he took 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 forth
the spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And 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.
So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 12:1-31
AV)
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