1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, "There were two men in one town, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had a great many sheep and cattle,
3 but the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children; it ate from his bit of food, drank from his cup and slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 A traveler came to the rich man, and he could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 David's anger flared hot against the man, and he told Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this is a son of death!
6 He must pay for the lamb four times over, because he did this and because he had no pity."
7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'It was I who anointed you king over Israel, and it was I who rescued you from Saul's hand.
8 I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your embrace; I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that were too little, I would have added as much again, and more.
9 Why have you despised the LORD's word by doing what is evil in his sight? Uriah the Hittite you struck down with the sword, his wife you took as your own wife, and him you killed with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 So now the sword will never leave your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'
11 This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own house I am going to raise up trouble against you. Before your eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives under the eyes of this sun.
12 You acted in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'"
13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan told David, "The LORD for his part has taken away your sin; you will not die.
14 But because by this deed you have given the LORD's enemies great cause to scorn him, the son born to you must die."
15 Then Nathan went home. The LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he fell gravely ill.
16 David pleaded with God for the boy. David fasted, and he went in and spent the nights lying on the ground.
17 The elders of his household stood over him to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him the child was dead, for they said, "While the child was alive we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself harm."
19 David saw his servants whispering to one another and realized that the child was dead. David asked his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
20 David got up from the ground, bathed, put on oil and changed his clothes. He went into the LORD's house and bowed in worship. Then he went home and asked for food; they set it before him and he ate.
21 His servants said to him, "What is this you are doing? While the child was alive you fasted and wept for him, and now that the child is dead you get up and eat!"
22 He said, "While the child was still alive I fasted and wept, because I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and the child may live.'
23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I will go to him, but he will not come back to me."
24 David comforted his wife Bathsheba; he went in to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named him Solomon. The LORD loved him,
25 and he sent word through Nathan the prophet, who named him Jedidiah, for the LORD's sake.
26 Joab was fighting against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and he took the royal city.
27 Joab sent messengers to David with word: "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city of waters too.
28 Now gather the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city and take it, or I will take the city myself and it will be named after me."
29 So David gathered all the troops, went to Rabbah, fought against it and took it.
30 He took their king's crown from his head; it weighed a talent of gold and held a precious stone, and it was set on David's head. He carried off a vast amount of spoil from the city.
31 He brought out the people who were in it and put them to work with saws, iron picks and iron axes, and made them pass through the brick kiln. He did this to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the troops went back to Jerusalem.