2 Samuel - The Old Testament

¹ Yahweh sent the prophet Nathan to David. He came to him and said: In the same town were two men, one rich, the other poor.

² The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance;

³ the poor man had nothing but a ewe lamb, only a single little one which he had bought. He fostered it and it grew up with him and his children, eating his bread, drinking from his cup, sleeping in his arms; it was like a daughter to him.

⁴ When a traveller came to stay, the rich man would not take anything from his own flock or herd to provide for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead, he stole the poor man's lamb and prepared that for his guest.

⁵ David flew into a great rage with the man. 'As Yahweh lives,' he said to Nathan 'the man who did this deserves to die.

⁶ For doing such a thing and for having shown no pity, he shall make fourfold restitution for the lamb.'

⁷ Nathan then said to David, 'You are the man! Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, "I anointed you king of Israel, I saved you from Saul's clutches,

⁸ I gave you your master's household and your master's wives into your arms, I gave you the House of Israel and the House of Judah; and, if this is still too little, I shall give you other things as well.

⁹ Why did you show contempt for Yahweh, by doing what displeases him? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword, you took his wife to be your wife, causing his death by the sword of the Ammonites.

¹⁰ For this, your household will never be free of the sword, since you showed contempt for me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite, to make her your wife."

¹¹ 'Yahweh says this, "Out of your own household I shall raise misfortune for you. Before your very eyes I shall take your wives and give them to your neighbour, who will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

¹² You have worked in secret, but I shall work this for all Israel to see, in broad daylight." '

¹³ David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against Yahweh.' Nathan then said to David, 'Yahweh, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die.

¹⁴ But, since you have outraged Yahweh by doing this, the child born to you will die.'

¹⁵ And Nathan went home. Yahweh struck the child which Uriah's wife had borne to David and it fell gravely ill.

¹⁶ David pleaded with Yahweh for the child; he kept a strict fast and went home and spent the night lying on the ground, covered with sacking.

¹⁷ The officials of his household stood round him, intending to get him off the ground, but he refused, nor would he take food with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. David's retinue were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. 'Even when the child was alive', they thought, 'we reasoned with him and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do something desperate.'

¹⁹ David, however, noticed that his retinue were whispering among themselves, and realised that the child was dead. 'Is the child dead?' he asked the officers. They replied, 'He is dead.'

²⁰ David got off the ground, bathed and anointed himself and put on fresh clothes. Then he went into Yahweh's sanctuary and prostrated himself. On returning to his house, he asked to be served with food and ate it.

²¹ His retinue said, 'Why are you acting like this? When the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child is dead, you get up and take food!'

²² 'When the child was alive', he replied, 'I fasted and wept because I kept thinking, "Who knows? Perhaps Yahweh will take pity on me and the child will live."

²³ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him but he cannot come back to me.'

²⁴ David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she called Solomon. Yahweh loved him

²⁵ and made this known by means of the prophet Nathan, who named him Jedidiah, as Yahweh had instructed.

²⁶ Joab assaulted Rabbah-of-the-Ammonites and captured the royal town.

²⁷ He then sent messengers to tell David, 'I have assaulted Rabbah and captured the water supply.

²⁸ So now muster the rest of the army, lay siege to the town and take it, or I will take it and the town will be called after me!'

²⁹ So David mustered the whole army and marched on Rabbah; he assaulted the town and captured it.

³⁰ He took the crown off Milcom's head; it weighed one talent of gold, and in it was set a precious stone which went on David's head instead. He carried off great quantities of booty from the town.'

³¹ And he expelled its inhabitants, setting them to work with saws, iron picks and iron axes, employing them at brickmaking. He treated all the Ammonite towns in the same way. David and the whole army returned to Jerusalem.