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.”

²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[a]’

⁴ Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,

⁹ No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

⁶ In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.

⁵ And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,

² “Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, ³ or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin. ⁴ If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, ⁵ or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering. ⁶ As a guilt offering to the Lord, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. ⁷ Through this process, the priest will purify you before the Lord, making you right with him,^[a] and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”

⁹ But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

⁵ But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.