1 A nd Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.

2 T he rich hath flocks and herds very many;

“The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

3 A nd the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;

“But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.

4 A nd there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was 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.”

5 A nd the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death the man who is doing this,

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.

6 a nd the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'

He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

7 A nd Nathan saith unto David, `Thou the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Nathan then said to David, “ You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘ It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.

8 a nd I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such.

I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, 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!

9 ` Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.

Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

10 ` And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;

Now therefore, the 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.’

11 t hus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;

Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

12 f or thou hast done in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'

Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’”

13 A nd David saith unto Nathan, `I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, `Also -- Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;

Then David said to Nathan, “ I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.

14 o nly, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'

However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”

15 A nd Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;

So Nathan went to his house. Loss of a Child Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.

16 a nd David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.

David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

17 A nd the elders of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing, nor hath he eaten with them bread;

The 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.

18 a nd it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the lad is dead, for they said, `Lo, in the lad being alive we spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto him, The lad is dead? -- then he hath done evil.'

Then 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!”

19 A nd David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, `Is the lad dead?' and they say, `Dead.'

But 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.”

20 A nd David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint, and changeth his raiment, and cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.

So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.

21 A nd his servants say unto him, `What this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.'

Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

22 A nd he saith, `While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? -- Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;

He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘ Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’

23 a nd now, he hath died, why this -- I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'

But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Solomon Born

24 A nd David comforteth Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him

25 a nd sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.

and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake. War Again

26 A nd Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,

Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and captured the royal city.

27 a nd Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, `I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured the city of waters;

Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters.

28 a nd now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name hath been called upon it.'

Now 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.”

29 A nd David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;

So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it.

30 a nd he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;

Then he took the crown of their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in great amounts.

31 a nd the people who in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.

He also brought out the people who were in it, and set 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.