12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan¹ to David. When he came to him, he said,² “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, except for a little ewe lamb that he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his sons. It used to³ eat from his morsels of bread, and it used to drink from his own cup, and it used to lie on his bosom. It was just like a daughter to him.

12:4 But when a traveler came to the rich man, he avoided taking from his own flock and from his own herd so as to provide for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and provided it for the man who had come to him.

12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man doing this will die! 12:6 Furthermore, he will pay for the lamb fourfold⁴ for doing this thing and for not having compassion.”

12:7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! So says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 12:8 I also gave to you the house of your lord along with the wives of your lord for your bosom. I also gave to you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given to you so much more as well! 12:9 Why have you treated with contempt the word of the LORD by doing evil in my⁵ sight. you have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 12:10 So now the sword shall never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your wife.’ 12:11 So says the LORD: ‘I am about to raise up over you evil from your own house. Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your friend. He will lie with your wives in broad daylight.⁶ 12:12 Although you have acted in secret, I will perform this thing before all Israel and in broad daylight.’”⁷

12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven⁸ your sin. You are not going to die. 12:14 Nonetheless, because you have treated the LORD with such contempt⁹ in this matter, the son that will be born to you will certainly die.”

12:15 Then Nathan went to his home. And the LORD struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore to David, and it took ill. 12:16 Then David prayed¹⁰ to God for the child. David also fasted. He used to¹¹ go and spend the night lying on the ground. 12:17 So the elders of his house stood over him in order to raise him from the ground, but he was not willing and would not eat food with them.

12:18 On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to let him know that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was yet alive he would not listen to us¹² when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”

12:19 When David realized that his servants were whispering to one another, he¹³ understood that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “Yes, he’s dead.” 12:20 So David arose from the ground, bathed, put on oil, and changed his clothes. He went to the house of the LORD and worshipped. Then when he entered his residence, he asked that food be brought to him, and he ate.

12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While¹⁴ the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you arose and ate food.” 12:22 He replied, “While the child was alive I fasted and wept because I thought,¹⁵ ‘Perhaps¹⁶ the LORD will have pity and the child will live. 12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’”

12:24 So David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had sexual relations with her.¹⁷ She bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The LORD loved him 12:25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that should be named Jedidiah for the LORD’s sake.

12:26¹⁸ So Joab fought in Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. 12:27 Then Joab sent messengers to David saying, “I have fought in Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.¹⁹ 12:28 So now gather the rest of the army²⁰ and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and it be named for me.”

12:29 So David gathered all the army and went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it. 12:30 He took the crown of their king²¹ from his head—its weight was a talent of gold and it held a precious stone—and it was placed on David’s head. He also removed from the city a great deal of plunder. 12:31 He brought the people who were in it and conscripted them to hard labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This is what he used to do with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.