2 Samuel 12 — King James Version

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.● The rich {man} had exceeding many flocks and herds:● 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. {meat: Heb. morsel}● 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.● 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: {shall...: or, is worthy to die, or, is a son of death}● And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.● 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;● 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.● 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.● 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.● 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.● For thou didst {it} secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.● 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.● 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.● And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.● David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. {fasted: Heb. fasted a fast}● 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.● 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? {vex: Heb. do hurt}● 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.● 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.● 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.● 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?● 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.● 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.● And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. {Jedidiah: that is, Beloved of the LORD}● And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.● And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.● 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. {it be called...: Heb. my name be called upon it}● And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.● 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. {in great...: Heb. very great}● 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 brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.●