2 Samuel 12
12
1The Lord sent Nathan to see David. When he got there, he said, “Once there were two men living in the same town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2The rich man had many thousands of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man didn't have anything but one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He cared for it, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his plate and drink from his cup. It slept on his lap and was like a daughter to him. 4One day the rich man had a visitor. He didn't want to take one of his own sheep or cattle to feed his visitor. He took the poor man's lamb instead to prepare a meal for his visitor.”
5David became absolutely furious with what that man did, and angrily told Nathan. “As the Lord lives, the man who did this should be put to death! 6He must repay that lamb with four#12:6. See Exodus 22:1. of his own for doing this, for being so heartless.”
7“You are that man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel, and I saved you from Saul. 8I gave your master's house to you and placed your master's wives in your lap. I gave you the kingdom of Israel and Judah, and if that hadn't been enough, I would have given you so much more. 9So why have you treated what the Lord said with contempt by doing evil in his sight? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and stole his wife—you killed him using the sword of the Ammonites. 10So your descendants will always face the sword#12:10. “Sword” used in these verses refers to any kind of violent death. that kills because you treated me with contempt and stole Uriah's wife.
11This is what the Lord says: ‘I'm going to bring disaster on you from your own family. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to someone else, and he will sleep openly with your wives where everyone can see. 12You did it all in secret, but I will do it openly where everyone in all of Israel can see.’”
13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
“The Lord has forgiven your sins. You're not going to die,” Nathan replied. 14“But because by doing this you have treated the Lord with complete contempt, the son you have will die.” 15Then Nathan went home.
The Lord made the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David become very sick. 16David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy. He fasted, went to his bedroom, and spent the night lying in sackcloth#12:16. “In sackcloth”: Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls reading. on the ground. 17His senior officials approached him and tried to help him up from the ground, but he didn't want to, and he refused their appeals to eat.
18On the seventh day the child died. But David's officials were scared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said to each other, “Look, while the child was still alive, we talked with him, and he refused to listen to us. How on earth can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something really bad!”
19But when David saw his officials were whispering among themselves, he realized that the child was dead. So he asked his officials, “Did the child die?”
“Yes, he died,” they replied.
20David got up from the ground, washed and put on scented oils, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. Afterwards he went back home, and asked for some food. So they served him a meal which he ate.
21“Why are you acting like this?” his officials asked him. “While the child was still alive, you fasted and cried aloud, but now that he's dead, you get up and eat.”
22David replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and cried aloud, for I thought to myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23But now that he's dead, what's the point for me to go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? One day I will die and go to him, but he will never come back to me.”
24David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and he made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child, 25so he sent a message through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah,#12:25. Meaning “loved by the Lord.” because the Lord loved him.
26At this time Joab had been fighting against the Ammonite town of Rabbah, and had captured the royal fortress. 27Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, “I have attacked Rabbah and I have also captured its water supply. 28So please call up the rest of the army, besiege the town, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and I will get the credit.”
29So David called up the rest of the army and marched on Rabbah. He attacked it and captured it. 30He took the crown from the head of their king, and it was placed on David's head. It weighed a talent of gold and was decorated with precious stones. David took a large amount of plunder from the town. 31David took the inhabitants and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he also made them work making bricks.#12:31. The Hebrew here is unclear. He did the same in all the Ammonite towns. Then David and the whole Israelite army returned to Jerusalem.
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2 Samuel 12: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
2 Samuel 12
12
Nathan's Message and David's Repentance
1 #
Ps 51 (Title) The LORD sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had many cattle and sheep, 3while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it with some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. 4One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to prepare a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked a meal for his guest.”
5David was very angry with the rich man and said, “I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die! 6For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”
7“You are that man,” Nathan said to David. “And this is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul. 8I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much. 9Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife! 10Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife. 11#2 Sam 16.22I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. 12You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’ ”
13“I have sinned against the LORD,” David said.
Nathan replied, “The LORD forgives you; you will not die. 14But because you have shown such contempt for the LORD in doing this, your child will die.” 15Then Nathan went home.
David's Son Dies
The LORD caused the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David to become very ill. 16David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor. 17His court officials went to him and tried to make him get up, but he refused and would not eat anything with them. 18A week later the child died, and David's officials were afraid to tell him the news. They said, “While the child was living, David wouldn't answer us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!”
19When David noticed them whispering to each other, he realized that the child had died. So he asked them, “Is the child dead?”
“Yes, he is,” they answered.
20David got up from the floor, had a bath, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. Then he went and worshipped in the house of the LORD. When he returned to the palace, he asked for food and ate it as soon as it was served. 21“We don't understand this,” his officials said to him. “While the child was alive, you wept for him and would not eat; but as soon as he died, you got up and ate!”
22“Yes,” David answered, “I did fast and weep while he was still alive. I thought that the LORD might be merciful to me and not let the child die. 23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Could I bring the child back to life? I will some day go to where he is, but he can never come back to me.”
Solomon is Born
24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He had intercourse with her, and she bore a son, whom David named Solomon. The LORD loved the boy 25and commanded the prophet Nathan to name the boy Jedidiah,#12.25 Jedidiah: This name in Hebrew means “Beloved of the LORD”. because the LORD loved him.
David Captures Rabbah
(1 Chr 20.1–3)
26Meanwhile Joab continued his campaign against Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, and was about to capture it. 27He sent messengers to David to report: “I have attacked Rabbah and have captured its water supply. 28Now gather the rest of your forces, attack the city and take it yourself. I don't want to get the credit for capturing it.” 29So David gathered his forces, went to Rabbah, attacked it, and conquered it. 30From the head of the idol of the Ammonite god Molech#12.30 idol of the Ammonite god Molech; or Ammonite king. David took a gold crown which weighed about 35 kilogrammes and had a jewel in it. David took the jewel and put it in his own crown.#12.30 jewel… crown; or crown and put it on his own head. He also took a large amount of loot from the city 31and put its people to work with saws, iron hoes, and iron axes, and forced them to work at#12.31 Probable text (see 1 Chr 20.3) work at; Hebrew pass through. making bricks. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.