Nathan’s Parable
1Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It ate from his own plate, drank from his own cup, and slept in his arms; it was like a daughter to him. 4Now a traveller came to the rich man, but he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5David burned with anger at the man and said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who did this deserves to die. 6He must pay back the lamb four times over, because he did this thing and had no pity.” 7Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9Why then have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing what is evil in my eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife — you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10So now the sword will never leave your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife. 11This is what Yahweh says: I am going to bring disaster on you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to another man, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12You did this in secret, but I will do this thing in front of all Israel, in broad daylight.” 13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh has taken away your sin; you will not die. 14But because by this deed you have utterly scorned Yahweh, the son born to you will surely die.”
The Death of the Child and the Birth of Solomon
15Then Nathan went home. And Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became gravely ill. 16David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, and he went in and spent the night lying on the ground. 17The elders of his household stood over him to raise him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19David noticed his servants whispering to each other and realized the child was dead. He asked them, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotion, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of Yahweh and worshipped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21His servants asked him, “Why are you doing this? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat.” 22He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I thought, Who knows? Yahweh may be gracious to me and let the child live. 23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 24David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and slept with her. She bore a son, and she named him Solomon. Yahweh loved him, 25and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah, because of Yahweh.
The Capture of Rabbah
26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. 27Joab sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. 28Now then, gather the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it yourself, or I will capture it and it will be named after me.” 29So David gathered all the troops, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it. 30He took the crown from the head of their king — it weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones — and it was placed on David’s head. He also brought out a great quantity of plunder from the city. 31He brought out the people who were there and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. He did this to all the towns of the Ammonites. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.
