1And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And when Nathan came to him, he said, “There were two men in one city; 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, which he had bought and nourished up; and it grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, and drank from his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter.
4And a visitor came to the rich man, and he was not willing to take of his own flock or of his own herd, to prepare it for his visitor, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared and served it to his visitor”.
5And David's anger flared up against the man; and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who did this thing shall surely die;
6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this, and had no pity”.
7And Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I protected you from Saul;
8And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have given to you many more such things.
9Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah, the Hittite, with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have used the sword of the of Ammonites to kill Uriah.
10Now, for this, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be your wife.’
11Thus says the LORD, “Look, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives, and give them to another man before your eyes, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12For you did this in secret; but I will do this in front all Israel, and before the sun.”’”
13And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.
14But by showing contempt for the LORD, you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme; the child that will be born to you shall surely die”.
15And Nathan returned to his own house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore unto David, and it was very sick.
16David, therefore, pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17And the elders of his house went to him, to lift him up from the earth, but he would not, nor did he eat bread with them.
18And on the seventh day, the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child had died; for they said, “While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to our voice; how much more will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?”
19But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child had died. Therefore, David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead”.
20Then David arose, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped. Then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set food before him, and he ate.
21Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, you rose and ate bread”.
22And David said, “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, “Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?”
23But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
24And David comforted Bath-sheba, his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon; and the LORD loved him.
25And he sent word through Nathan, the prophet; and he named him Jedidiah (“Beloved of the LORD”), as the LORD said.
26And Joab fought against Rabbah, of the Ammonites, and took the royal city.
27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have attacked Rabbah, and have captured the city waters supply.
28Now, muster the rest of the men, and encamp across from the city, and take it; so that the city will not be named after me, if I take it.”
29And so David mustered all the people, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.
30And he took their king's crown from off his head, its weight was a talent of gold (about 75 pounds) with the precious stones; and it was set on David's head. And he brought from the city a great abundance of spoils.
31And he took the people who were in the city, and made them labor with saws, harrows, and axes of iron, and to toil at the brickkiln. He did the same to all the cities of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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