1 So Yahweh sent the pro phet Nathan to David. Na than went to the king and said to him, ¡°There were two men in a city: one was rich; the other, poor.

2 The rich man had many sheep and cattle,

3 but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb he had bought. He himself fed it and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and slept on his lap. It was like a daughter to him.

4 Now a traveler came to the rich man, but he would not take from his own flock or herd to prepare food for the tra v eler. Instead, he took the poor man¡¯s lamb and prepared that for his visitor.¡±

5 David was furious because of this man and told Nathan, ¡°As Yah weh lives, the man who has done this deserves death!

6 He must return the lamb fourfold for acting like this and showing no compassion.¡±

7 Nathan said to David, ¡°You are this man! It is Yahweh, God of Israel, who speaks: ¡®I anointed you king over Israel and saved you from Saul¡¯s hands;

8 I gave you your master¡¯s house and your master¡¯s wives; I also gave you the nation of Israel and Judah. But if this were not enough, I would have given you even more.

9 Why did you despise Yahweh by doing what displeases him? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife for yourself. Yes, you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

10 Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.

11 Thus says Yahweh: Your misfortune will rise from your own house! I will take your wives from you and give them to your neighbor who shall lie with them in broad daylight.

12 What you did was done secretly, but what I do will be done before Israel in broad daylight.¡±

13 David said to Nathan, ¡°I have sinned against Yahweh.¡± Nathan answered him, ¡°Yahweh has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.

14 However, because you have dared to despise Yahweh by doing such a thing, the child that is born to you shall die.¡±

15 Then Nathan left and went to his house.
Yahweh struck the child that Uriah¡¯s wife bore to David and it became sick.

16 David entreated God for the child; he kept a strict fast and lay on the ground the whole night.

17 The el ders of his house asked him to rise from the ground but he refused. Nor did he join them to eat.

18 On the seventh day, the child died. David¡¯s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead for they said, ¡°When the child was still alive, we spoke to him but he would not listen to us. What will he do if we tell him the child is dead?¡±

19 When David saw his servants whispering to one another, he realized that the child was dead and asked them, ¡°Is the child dead?¡± They replied, ¡°He is dead.¡±

20 Then David rose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He entered the house of Yahweh and worshiped.
After that, he went to his own house, asked for food and ate.

21 Then his servants asked him, ¡°Why are you acting like this? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but after it died, you got up and took food.¡±

22 David an swered, ¡°While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept thinking: who knows? Perhaps Yahweh will be kind to me and let my child live.

23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back to life? I can go to him but he cannot return to me.¡±

24 David comforted his wife Bath sheba. He went in and slept with her and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. Yahweh loved him

25 and made it known through Nathan the prophet, who named him Jedidiah on Yahweh¡¯s behalf.

26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and conquered the king¡¯s city.

27 Then he sent messengers to David and told him, ¡°I have fought against Rabbah and conquered the city of waters.

28 Gather then the rest of the peo ple to attack and capture the city lest I my self do it and the city be called by my name.¡±

29 So David mustered the people, attacked and captured Rabbah.

30 He took the crown of their god Milkom from its head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, and which had a precious stone embedded in it. This they put on David¡¯s head. He carried off an amount of booty

31 and brought away the people whom he set to labor with saws, iron picks and iron axes, making them work at the brick-kilns. David dealt like this with all the Ammonite cities, then he returned to Jerusalem with all the people.

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Comments 2 Samuel, Chapter 12

• 12.1 David will be a model of the repentant sinner. Why did you despise the word of Yahweh? What has David done that God should choose him? Everything in his life has been the work of Yah weh¡¯s love. God chose a simple shepherd to make him king. Even more, he chose this ¡°king¡± from a small nation, to establish the permanent kingdom. There are no excuses for David.

You did what displeases me. David easily forgets that Yahweh does not look for external ceremonies, but rather for purity of heart and justice to the neighbor.

You killed Uriah and took his wife. God brings into broad daylight what David had hidden from everyone and from his own conscience.

David¡¯s attitude: he humbly acknowledges his sin and accepts the consequences of his fault. Psalm 51, the moving prayer of a repentant sinner, is attributed to him.
God¡¯s attitude:

¨C God has forgiven your sin. God remains faithful and keeps his promises to David¡¯s descendants. More than that, Solomon, son of Bathsheba and David, will be the beneficiary of the promises mentioned: God will let grace pass through where sin had passed.

¨C Your misfortune will rise from your own house. In pardoning, God does not erase the consequences of the crime.

• 15. The child born without love between David and Bathsheba falls sick and dies. The king realizes that this is another sign to make him understand the gravity of his sin. God is not vindictive nor does he bear grudges. His heart is not like ours. He is ¡°slow to anger and no one surpasses him in kindness.¡±

Another child is born of the same woman, now his wife; it is the future king Solomon, whom God chooses to succeed David. In spite of his sin, God has not abandoned David.