2 Samuel 12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;(D) 8 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 had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.(E) 10 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.(F) 11 Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.(G) 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and in broad daylight.”(H) 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.(I) 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,[a] the child born to you shall die.”(J) 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
Bathsheba’s Child Dies
The Lord struck the child whom Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill.(K) 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.(L) 17 The elders of his house stood beside him urging him to rise from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead, and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”
20 Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped; he then went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.(M) 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you rose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’(N) 23 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.”(O)
Solomon Is Born
24 Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba and went to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The Lord loved him(P) 25 and sent a message by the prophet Nathan, so he named him Jedidiah[b] because of the Lord.
The Ammonites Crushed
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city.(Q) 27 Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the water city. 28 Now, then, gather the rest of the people together, encamp against the city, and take it, lest I myself take the city and it is called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 He took the crown of Milcom[c] from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David’s head. He also brought forth the spoil of the city, a very great amount.(R) 31 He brought out the people who were in it and set them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes or sent them to the brickworks. Thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 12
New Living Translation
Nathan Rebukes David
12 So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2 The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. 3 The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”
5 David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. 10 From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.
11 “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. 12 You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”
David Confesses His Guilt
13 Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. 14 Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord[a] by doing this, your child will die.”
15 After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. 16 David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. 17 The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.
18 Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?”
19 When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions,[b] and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.
21 His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”
22 David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David[c] named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.[d]
David Captures Rabbah
26 Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.[e] 27 Joab sent messengers to tell David, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.[f] 28 Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.”
29 So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king’s head,[g] and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds.[h] David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. 31 He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with[i] saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns.[j] That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 12:14 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads the enemies of the Lord.
- 12:20 Hebrew anointed himself.
- 12:24 Hebrew he; an alternate Hebrew reading and some Hebrew manuscripts read she.
- 12:25 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads because of the Lord.
- 12:26 Or the royal city.
- 12:27 Or captured the city of water.
- 12:30a Or from the head of Milcom (as in Greek version). Milcom, also called Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
- 12:30b Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms].
- 12:31a Hebrew He also brought out the people [of Rabbah] and put them under.
- 12:31b Hebrew and he made them pass through the brick kilns.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
