2 Samuel 12:1-14

Modern English Version

Nathan Rebukes David^(A)

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was wealthy, but the other was poor. ² The wealthy man had a very large flock and herd, ³ but the poor man had nothing except a single small ewe lamb that he had acquired. He nourished it and raised it together with himself and his sons. From his crumbs, it would eat; from his cup, it would drink; and in his arms it would lie. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “There came a visitor to the wealthy man, but he was unwilling to take from his own flock or herd to prepare a meal for the wanderer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared food for the wanderer who had come to him.”

⁵ David became very angry because of this man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die. ⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan told David, “You are this man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you as king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave to you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave to you the house of Israel and Judah. If this were too little, I would have continued to do for you much more. ⁹ Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and you took his wife as a wife for yourself. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now 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 “Thus says the Lord: See, I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and will give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² Although you did it secretly, I will do this thing before all of Israel, and under the sun.”

¹³ Then 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. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”