¶ And the LORD sent Nathan unto David². And he came³ unto him, and said unto him, There were⁴ two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had exceeding⁵ many flocks and herds:

But the poor man had nothing, save one little⁶ 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 meat⁷, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

And there came a traveller⁸ 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 the⁹ poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

And David's¹⁰ anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD¹¹ liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die¹²:

And he shall restore¹³ the lamb fourfold, because¹⁴ he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

And Nathan said to David, Thou art¹⁵ the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed¹⁶ thee king over Israel, and I delivered¹⁷ thee out of the hand of Saul;

And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives¹⁸ into thy bosom, and gave thee¹⁹ the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would²⁰ moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised²¹ the commandment of the LORD, to do evil²² in his sight? thou hast²³ 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 sword²⁴ shall never depart from thine house; because²⁵ thou hast despised me, and hast taken²⁶ the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise²⁷ up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take²⁸ 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 secretly²⁹: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

And David³⁰ said unto Nathan, I have sinned³¹ against the LORD³². And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou³³ shalt not die.

Howbeit, because by this deed³⁴ thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child³⁵ also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

¶ And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child³⁶ that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

David therefore besought³⁷ God for the child; and David fasted³⁸, and went in, and lay all night³⁹ upon the earth.

And the elders⁴⁰ 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 day⁴¹, 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?

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 arose⁴² from the earth, and washed, and anointed⁴³ himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house⁴⁴ 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 thing⁴⁵ 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 fasted⁴⁶ 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 go⁴⁷ to him, but he shall not⁴⁸ 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 Nathan⁵⁰ the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah⁵¹, because of the LORD.

¶ And Joab⁵² fought against Rabbah⁵³ of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah⁵⁴, and have taken the city of waters⁵⁵.

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 name⁵⁶.

And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

¶ And he took⁵⁷ their king's crown from off his head, the weight⁵⁸ 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 abundance⁵⁹.

And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them⁶⁰ 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.