1The LORD sent Nathan the prophet to David, and when he entered his presence, he said to him, 'There were once two men in the same city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had large flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing of his own except one little ewe lamb. He reared it himself, and it grew up in his home with his own sons. It ate from his dish, drank from his cup and nestled in his arms; it was like a daughter to him. 4One day a traveller came to the rich man's house, and he, too mean to take something from his own flocks and herds to serve to his guest, took the poor man's lamb and served up that.' 5David was very angry, and burst out, 'As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6He shall pay for the lamb four times over, because he has done this and shown no pity.' 7Then Nathan said to David, 'You are the man. This is the word of the LORD the God of Israel to you: "I anointed you king over Israel, I rescued you from the power of Saul, 8I gave you your master's daughter and his wives to be your own, I gave you the daughters of Israel and Judah; and, had this not been enough, I would have added other favours as great. 9Why then have you flouted the word of the LORD by doing what is wrong in my eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; the man himself you murdered by the sword of the Ammonites, and you have stolen his wife. 10Now, therefore, since you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife, your family shall never again have rest from the sword." 11This is the word of the LORD: "I will bring trouble upon you from within your own family; I will take your wives and give them to another man before your eyes, and he will lie with them in broad daylight. 12What you did was done in secret; but I will do this in the light of day for all Israel to see." ' 13David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' Nathan answered him, 'The LORD has laid on another the consequences of your sin: you shall not die, 14but, because in this you have shown your contempt for the LORD , the boy that will be born to you shall die.'
15When Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the boy whom Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he was very ill. 16David prayed to God for the child; he fasted and went in and spent the night fasting, lying on the ground. 17The older men of his household tried to get him to rise from the ground, but he refused and would eat no food with them. 18On the seventh day the boy died, and David's servants were afraid to tell him. 'While the boy was alive,' they said, 'we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how can we now tell him that the boy is dead? He may do something desperate.' 19But David saw his servants whispering among themselves and guessed that the boy was dead. He asked, 'Is the boy dead?', and they answered, 'He is dead.' 20Then David rose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and put on fresh clothes; he entered the house of the LORD and prostrated himself there. Then he went home, asked for food to be brought, and when it was ready, he ate it. 21His servants asked him, 'What is this? While the boy lived you fasted and wept for him, but now that he is dead you rise up and eat.' 22He answered, 'While the boy was still alive I fasted and wept, thinking, "It may be that the LORD will be gracious to me, and the boy may live." 23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him; he will not come back to me.'
24David consoled Bathsheba his wife; he went to her and had intercourse with her, and she gave birth to a son and called him Solomon. And because the LORD loved him, 25he sent word through Nathan the prophet that for the LORD's sake he should be given the name Jedidiah .
26 Joab attacked the Ammonite city of Rabbah and took the King's Pool. 27He sent messengers to David with this report: 'I have attacked Rabbah and have taken the pool. 28You had better muster the rest of the army yourself, besiege the city and take it; otherwise I shall take the city and the name to be proclaimed over it will be mine.' 29David accordingly mustered his whole forces, marched to Rabbah, attacked it and took it. 30He took the crown from the head of Milcom, which weighed a talent of gold and was set with a precious stone, and this he placed on his own head. He also removed a great quantity of booty from the city; 31he took its inhabitants and set them to work with saws and other iron tools, sharp and toothed, and made them work in the brick-kilns. David did this to all the Cities of the Ammonites; then he and all his people returned to Jerusalem.
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