1Then יהוה sent Nathan to Dawiḏ. And he came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.

2“The rich one had flocks and herds, very many.

3“But the poor one had only one little ewe lamb which he had bought and kept alive. And it grew up with him and with his children together. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom. And it was like a daughter to him.

4“And a traveller came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

5And the wrath of Dawiḏ burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As יהוה lives, the man who has done this is a son of death!

6“Also, he has to repay fourfold for the lamb, because he did this deed and because he had no compassion.”

7Then Nathan said to Dawiḏ, “You are the man! Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘I anointed you sovereign over Yisra’ĕl, and I delivered you from the hand of Sha’ul.

8‘And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah. And if that were not enough, I also would have given you much more!

9‘Why have you despised the Word of יהוה to do evil in His eyes? You have killed Uriyah the Ḥittite with the sword, and his wife you took to be your wife, and you have killed him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10‘And now, the sword does not turn aside from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriyah the Ḥittite to be your wife.’

11“Thus said יהוה, ‘See, I am raising up evil against you, from your own house, and shall 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.

12‘For you did it in secret, but I shall do this deed before all Yisra’ĕl, and before the sun.’ ”

13And Dawiḏ said to Nathan, “I have sinned against יהוה.” And Nathan said to Dawiḏ, “Also, יהוה has put away your sin, you shall not die.

14“However, because by this deed you have greatly scorned יהוה, the child also who is born to you shall certainly die.”

15And Nathan went to his house, and יהוה smote the child that Uriyah’s wife had born to Dawiḏ, and he was sick.

16And Dawiḏ sought Elohim for the child, and Dawiḏ fasted and went in and spent all night lying on the ground.

17So the elders of his house stood up over him, to raise him up from the earth. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

18And on the seventh day it came to be that the child died. And the servants of Dawiḏ were afraid to inform him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to our voice. And how do we say to him that the child is dead? Then he shall do evil!”

19And Dawiḏ saw that his servants were whispering, and Dawiḏ perceived that the child was dead. Then Dawiḏ said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”

20Dawiḏ then rose up from the ground, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his garments. And he went into the House of יהוה and bowed himself, then came to his own house, and asked, and they set food before him, so he ate.

21And his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept because of the living child, but when the child died, you rose up and ate food.”

22And he said, “While the child was alive I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether יהוה shows favour unto me, and the child shall live?’

23“But now he is dead, why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I am going to him, but he does not return to me.”

24And Dawiḏ comforted Bathsheḇa his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Shelomoh. And יהוה loved him,

25and sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Yeḏiḏeyah, because of יהוה.

26And Yo’aḇ fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and captured the royal city.

27And Yo’aḇ sent messengers to Dawiḏ, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have captured the city’s water supply.

28“And now, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and it be called after my name.”

29And Dawiḏ gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and captured it.

30And he took their sovereign’s crown from his head. And its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones, and it was on Dawiḏ’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.

31And he brought out the people who were in it, and set them to the saw and to sharp instruments of iron and to axes of iron, and made them pass over to the brick works. And so he did with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And Dawiḏ and all the people returned to Yerushalayim.