2 Samuel 12

And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. And he came in to him and said to him, "There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor.

And the rich man had very many flocks and herds,

but the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and kept and reared; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate from his bread and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom, and it was to him like a daughter.

And a traveller came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flocks and from his own herds to prepare for the stranger, the wayfarer who had come to him; and he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

And David was exceedingly angry with the man, and David said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!

And he shall repay the lamb sevenfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."

And Nathan said to David, "You are the man who did this. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: 'It was I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it was I who rescued you from the hand of Saul.

And I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives into your bosom, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that is too little, I will add to you the like of these.

Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and you took his wife for yourself as a wife, and you killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

And now the sword shall never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I am raising up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

For you did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before this sun.'"

And David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

Nevertheless, because in this matter you have greatly provoked the enemies of the Lord, the son who has been born to you shall surely die."

And Nathan went away to his house. And the Lord struck the child whom Uriah's wife had borne to David, and it fell sick.

And David sought God concerning the child, and David fasted a fast, and he went in and spent the night in sackcloth on the ground.

And the elders of his house rose up over him to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat bread with them.

And it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child had died, for they said, "Look, while the child was still alive we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice; how then can we say to him that the child has died? He will do harm."

And David perceived that his servants were whispering, and David understood that the child had died. And David said to his servants, "Has the child died?" And they said, "He has died."

And David rose from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of God and worshipped him. Then he came into his own house and asked for bread to eat, and they set bread before him, and he ate.

And his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? For the sake of the child, while he was still alive, you fasted and wept and kept awake; but when the child died, you rose and ate bread and drank."

And David said, "While the child was still alive I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the Lord will have mercy on me and the child will live?'

But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and he went in to her and lay with her; and she conceived and bore 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 Ididi, for the Lord's sake.

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and he captured the royal city.

And Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have captured the city of waters.

And now gather the rest of the people and encamp against the city and take it first, lest I myself take the city first and my name be called over it."

And David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it.

And he took the crown of Melchol their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, with a precious stone; and it was on David's head. And he carried off very much spoil from the city.

And he brought out the people who were in it and put them to the saw and to the iron harrows, and he made them pass through the brick-kiln. And so he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.