^{1 Ref} And 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;

^{2 Ref} The rich hath flocks and herds very many;

^{3 Ref} And 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;

^{4 Ref} And 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.'

^{5 Ref} And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death `is' the man who is doing this,

^{6 Ref} and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'

^{7 Ref} And Nathan saith unto David, `Thou `art' 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;

^{8 Ref} and 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 `things'.

^{9 Ref} `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.

^{10 Ref} `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;

^{11 Ref} thus 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;

^{12 Ref} for thou hast done `it' in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'

^{13 Ref} And 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;

^{14 Ref} only, 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.'

^{15 Ref} And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;

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

^{17 Ref} And 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;

^{18 Ref} and 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.'

¹⁹ And 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.'

^{20 Ref} And David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint `himself', 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.

^{21 Ref} And his servants say unto him, `What `is' 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.'

^{22 Ref} And 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;

^{23 Ref} and now, he hath died, why `is' this -- I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'

^{24 Ref} And 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,

^{25 Ref} and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.

^{26 Ref} And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,

^{27 Ref} and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, `I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured the city of waters;

^{28 Ref} and 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.'

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

^{30 Ref} and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight `is' 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;

^{31 Ref} and the people who `are' 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.

^{1 Ref} Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

^{2 Ref} The rich man had very many flocks and herds,

^{3 Ref} but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter.

^{4 Ref} A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man who had come to him."

^{5 Ref} David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die!

^{6 Ref} He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity!"

^{7 Ref} Nathan said to David, "You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

^{8 Ref} I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things.

^{9 Ref} Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

^{10 Ref} Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

^{11 Ref} This is what Yahweh says: 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

^{12 Ref} For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'"

^{13 Ref} David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh." Nathan said to David, "Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.

^{14 Ref} However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh's enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

^{15 Ref} Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.

^{16 Ref} David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.

^{17 Ref} The elders of his house arose, [and stood] beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

^{18 Ref} It happened on the seventh day, that the child died. The servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he didn't listen to 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 were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? They said, He is dead.

^{20 Ref} Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing; and he came into the house of Yahweh, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate.

^{21 Ref} Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that you have done? you did fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, you did rise and eat bread.

^{22 Ref} He said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who knows whether Yahweh will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?

^{23 Ref} But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

^{24 Ref} David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Yahweh loved him;

^{25 Ref} and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he named him Jedidiah, for Yahweh's sake.

^{26 Ref} Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

^{27 Ref} Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yes, I have taken the city of waters.

^{28 Ref} 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 David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

^{30 Ref} He took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight of it was a talent of gold, and [in it were] precious stones; and it was set on David's head. He brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.

^{31 Ref} He brought forth the people who were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.