|
Chapter 12 |
| 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 traveler 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 neighbor, 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 brick-kiln: and thus did
he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people
returned unto Jerusalem. |
