2 Samuel 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Nathan’s Parable and David’s Repentance
12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David.(A) When he arrived, he said to him:
There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.[a]
5 David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.”(B)
7 Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel,(C) and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms,[b] and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. 9 Why then have you despised the command of the Lord by doing what I consider[c] evil?(D) You struck down Uriah(E) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword.(F) 10 Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house(G) because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.’
11 “This is what the Lord says,(H) ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another[d] before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly.[e] 12 You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’”[f]
13 David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”(I)
Then Nathan replied to David, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.(J) 14 However, because you treated[g] the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”(K) 15 Then Nathan went home.
The Death of Bathsheba’s Son
The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s(L) wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.(M) 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18 On the seventh day the baby died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?”
“He is dead,” they replied.
20 Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”
22 He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”(N)
The Birth of Solomon
24 Then David comforted(O) his wife Bathsheba; he went and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named[h] him Solomon.[i](P) The Lord loved him, 25 and He sent a message through Nathan the prophet, who named[j] him Jedidiah,[k] because of the Lord.
Capture of the City of Rabbah
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites(Q) and captured the royal fortress. 27 Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have also captured the water supply. 28 Now therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will be the one to capture the city, and it will be named after me.” 29 So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; he fought against it and captured it. 30 He took the crown from the head of their king,[l] and it was placed on David’s head. The crown weighed 75 pounds[m] of gold, and it had a precious stone in it. In addition, David took away a large quantity of plunder from the city. 31 He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking.(R) He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 12:4 Lit for the man who had come to him
- 2 Samuel 12:8 Lit bosom
- 2 Samuel 12:9 Alt Hb tradition reads what He considers
- 2 Samuel 12:11 Or to your neighbor
- 2 Samuel 12:11 Lit in the eyes of this sun
- 2 Samuel 12:12 Lit and before the sun
- 2 Samuel 12:14 Ancient Jewish tradition, one LXX ms; MT reads treated the enemies of; DSS read treated the word of
- 2 Samuel 12:24 Alt Hb tradition reads he named
- 2 Samuel 12:24 In Hb, the name Solomon sounds like “peace.”
- 2 Samuel 12:25 Or prophet to name
- 2 Samuel 12:25 = Beloved of the Lord
- 2 Samuel 12:30 LXX reads of Milcom; some emend to Molech; 1Kg 11:5,33
- 2 Samuel 12:30 Lit a talent
2 Samuel 12
New King James Version
Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession
12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And (A)he came to him, and (B)said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this [a]shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore (C)fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I (D)anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 (E)Why have you (F)despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? (G)You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, (H)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 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will (I)take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, (J)but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
13 (K)So David said to Nathan, (L)“I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has (M)put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord (N)to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.
The Death of David’s Son
And the (O)Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and (P)lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?”
And they said, “He is dead.”
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and (Q)anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and (R)worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; (S)for I said, ‘Who can tell whether [b]the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go (T)to him, but (U)he shall not return to me.”
Solomon Is Born
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So (V)she bore a son, and (W)he[c] called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So [d]he called his name [e]Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Rabbah Is Captured(X)
26 Now (Y)Joab fought against (Z)Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. 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 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 (AA)Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the [f]spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 12:5 deserves to die, lit. is a son of death
- 2 Samuel 12:22 Heb. mss., Syr. God
- 2 Samuel 12:24 So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., a few Heb. mss., Syr., Tg. she
- 2 Samuel 12:25 Qr., some Heb. mss., Syr., Tg. she
- 2 Samuel 12:25 Lit. Beloved of the Lord
- 2 Samuel 12:30 plunder
2 Samuel 12
King James Version
12 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 traveller 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 neighbour, 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.
2 Samuel 12
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Natán reprende a David
12 Entonces el Señor envió a Natán a David(A). Y Natán vino a él(B) y le dijo:
«Había dos hombres en una ciudad, el uno rico, y el otro pobre.
2 -»El rico tenía muchas ovejas y vacas.
3 -»Pero el pobre no tenía más que una corderita
Que él había comprado y criado,
La cual había crecido junto con él y con sus hijos.
Comía de su pan[a], bebía de su copa y dormía en su seno,
Y era como una hija(C) para él.
4 -»Vino un viajero a visitar al hombre rico
Y este no quiso[b] tomar de sus ovejas ni de sus vacas
Para preparar comida para el caminante que había venido a él,
Sino que tomó la corderita de aquel hombre pobre y la preparó para el hombre que había venido a visitarlo».
5 Y se encendió la ira de David en gran manera contra aquel hombre, y dijo a Natán: «Vive el Señor, que ciertamente el hombre que hizo esto merece morir[c](D); 6 y debe pagar cuatro veces(E) por la cordera, porque hizo esto y no tuvo compasión».
7 Entonces Natán dijo a David: «Tú eres aquel hombre(F). Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: “Yo te ungí(G) rey sobre Israel y te libré de la mano de Saúl. 8 Yo también entregué a tu cuidado[d] la casa de tu señor y las mujeres de tu señor, y te di la casa de Israel y de Judá(H); y si eso hubiera sido poco, te hubiera añadido muchas cosas como estas. 9 ¿Por qué has despreciado la palabra del Señor haciendo lo malo(I) ante Sus ojos? Has matado[e] a espada a Urías el hitita(J), has tomado su mujer para que sea mujer tuya(K), y a él lo has matado con la espada de los amonitas. 10 Ahora pues, la espada nunca se apartará de tu casa(L), porque me has despreciado y has tomado la mujer de Urías el hitita para que sea tu mujer”.
11 Así dice el Señor: “Por eso, de tu misma casa levantaré el mal contra ti; y aun tomaré tus mujeres delante de tus ojos y las daré a tu compañero, y este se acostará con tus mujeres(M) a plena luz del día[f]. 12 En verdad, tú lo hiciste en secreto(N), pero Yo haré esto delante de todo Israel(O) y a plena luz[g] del sol”». 13 Entonces David dijo a Natán: «He pecado contra el Señor(P)». Y Natán dijo a David: «El Señor ha quitado tu pecado[h]; no morirás(Q). 14 Sin embargo, por cuanto con este hecho has dado ocasión de blasfemar(R) a los enemigos del Señor, ciertamente morirá el niño que te ha nacido». 15 Y Natán regresó a su casa.
Entonces el Señor hirió al niño que la viuda[i] de Urías dio[j] a David, y se puso muy enfermo. 16 David rogó a Dios por el niño; y[k] ayunó(S), y fue y pasó la noche acostado en el suelo(T). 17 Los ancianos de su casa(U) se pusieron a su lado para levantarlo del suelo, pero él no quiso, y no comió con ellos. 18 Sucedió que al séptimo día el niño murió. Los siervos de David temían informarle que el niño había muerto, pues se decían: «Si cuando el niño todavía estaba vivo, le hablábamos y no nos escuchaba[l], ¿cómo, pues, vamos a decirle que el niño ha muerto? Puede hacerse daño». 19 Pero viendo David que sus siervos susurraban entre sí, comprendió[m] que el niño había muerto, y[n] dijo a sus siervos: «¿Ha muerto el niño?». «Ha muerto», respondieron ellos. 20 Entonces David se levantó del suelo, se lavó, se ungió y se cambió de ropa(V); entró en la casa del Señor y adoró(W). Después vino a su casa y cuando pidió, le pusieron comida delante y comió. 21 Así que sus siervos le dijeron: «¿Qué es esto que ha hecho? Mientras[o] el niño vivía, usted ayunaba y lloraba, pero cuando el niño murió, se levantó y comió pan[p]». 22 Y él respondió: «Mientras el niño aún vivía, yo ayunaba y lloraba(X), pues me decía: “¿Quién sabe si el Señor tendrá compasión de mí y el niño viva(Y)?”. 23 Pero ahora que ha muerto, ¿por qué he de ayunar? ¿Podré hacer que vuelva? Yo iré a él(Z), pero él no volverá a mí(AA)».
24 Entonces David consoló a Betsabé su mujer, y vino a ella y se acostó con ella; y ella dio a luz un hijo; y él[q] le puso por nombre Salomón(AB). Y el Señor lo amó, 25 y envió un mensaje por medio[r] del profeta Natán, y le puso el nombre de Jedidías[s], por causa del Señor.
David conquista a Rabá
26 (AC)Joab combatió contra Rabá, ciudad de los amonitas, y conquistó la ciudad real(AD). 27 Entonces Joab envió mensajeros a David que le dijeran: «He combatido contra Rabá, y también he tomado la ciudad de las aguas. 28 Ahora pues, reúna el resto del pueblo y acampe contra la ciudad y tómela, no sea que tome yo la ciudad y sea llamada por mi nombre».
29 David reunió a todo el pueblo y fue a Rabá, y peleó contra ella y la tomó. 30 Quitó la corona de la cabeza de su rey[t], la cual pesaba 34 kilos de oro y tenía una piedra preciosa, y fue puesta[u] sobre la cabeza de David. Y él sacó botín de la ciudad en grandes cantidades(AE). 31 Y la gente que había en ella, la sacó y la puso a trabajar con sierras, con trillos de hierro y con hachas de hierro; también la puso a trabajar en[v] los hornos de ladrillos(AF). Así hizo a todas las ciudades de los amonitas. Entonces regresó David con todo el pueblo a Jerusalén.
Footnotes
- 12:3 Lit. bocado.
- 12:4 Lit. y se abstuvo de.
- 12:5 Lit. es un hijo de muerte.
- 12:8 Lit. en tu seno.
- 12:9 Lit. herido.
- 12:11 Lit. a vista de este sol.
- 12:12 Lit. delante.
- 12:13 Lit. hecho que tu pecado pase.
- 12:15 Lit. mujer.
- 12:15 Lit. dio a luz.
- 12:16 Lit. y David.
- 12:18 Lit. no escuchaba nuestra voz.
- 12:19 Lit. David entendió.
- 12:19 Lit. y David.
- 12:21 Lit. Por causa de que.
- 12:21 O alimento.
- 12:24 Algunos mss. y dos versiones antiguas dicen: ella.
- 12:25 Lit. mano.
- 12:25 I.e. amado del Señor.
- 12:30 O de Milcam; véase Sof. 1:5.
- 12:30 Lit. estaba.
- 12:31 Lit. y los hizo pasar por.
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