And it came to pass at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth to war, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they spoiled the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabba: but David remained in Jerusalem.

²In the mean time it happened that David arose from his bed after noon, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: And he saw from the roof of his house a woman washing herself, over against him: and the woman was very beautiful.

³And the king sent, and inquired who the woman was. And it was told him, that she was Bethsabee the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urias the Hethite.

⁴And David sent messengers, and took her, and she came in to him, and he slept with her: and presently she was purified from her uncleanness:

⁵And she returned to her house having conceived. And she sent and told David, and said: I have conceived.

⁶And David sent to Joab, saying: Send me Urias the Hethite. And Joab sent Urias to David.

⁷And Urias came to David. And David asked how Joab did, and the people, and how the war was carried on.

⁸And David said to Urias: Go into thy house, and wash thy feet. And Urias went out from the king’s house, and there went out after him a mess of meat from the king.

⁹But Urias slept before the gate of the king’s house, with the other servants of his lord, and went not down to his own house.

¹⁰And it was told David by some that said: Urias went not to his house. And David said to Urias: Didst thou not come from thy journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

¹¹And Urias said to David: The ark of God and Israel and Juda dwell in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide upon the face of the earth: and shall I go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to sleep with my wife? By thy welfare and by the welfare of thy soul I will not do this thing.

¹²Then David said to Urias: Tarry here to day, and to morrow I will send thee away. Urias tarried in Jerusalem that day and the next.

¹³And David called him to eat and to drink before him, and he made him drunk: and he went out in the evening, and slept on his couch with the servants of his lord, and went not down into his house.

¹⁴And when the morning was come, David wrote a letter to Joab: and sent it by the hand of Urias,

¹⁵Writing in the letter: Set ye Urias in the front of the battle, where the fight is strongest: and leave ye him, that he may be wounded and die.

¹⁶Wherefore as Joab was besieging the city, he put Urias in the place where he knew the bravest men were.

¹⁷And the men coming out of the city, fought against Joab, and there fell some of the people of the servants of David, and Urias the Hethite was killed also.

¹⁸Then Joab sent, and told David all things concerning the battle.

¹⁹And he charged the messenger, saying: When thou hast told all the words of the battle to the king,

²⁰If thou see him to be angry, and he shall say: Why did you approach so near to the wall to fight? knew you not that many darts are thrown from above off the wall?

²¹Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerobaal? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall and slew him in Thebes? Why did you go near the wall? Thou shalt say: Thy servant Urias the Hethite is also slain.

²²So the messenger departed, and came and told David all that Joab had commanded him.

²³And the messenger said to David: The men prevailed against us, and they came out to us into the field: and we vigorously charged and pursued them even to the gate of the city.

²⁴And the archers shot their arrows at thy servants from off the wall above: and some of the king’s servants are slain, and thy servant Urias the Hethite is also dead.

²⁵And David said to the messenger: Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing discourage thee: for various is the event of war: and sometimes one, sometimes another is consumed by the sword: encourage thy warriors against the city, and exhort them that thou mayest overthrow it.

²⁶And the wife of Urias heard that Urias her husband was dead, and she mourned for him.

²⁷And the mourning being over, David sent and brought her into his house, and she became his wife, and she bore him a son: and this thing which David had done, was displeasing to the Lord.

Chapter 12

And the Lord sent Nathan to David: and when he was come to him, he said to him: There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor.

²The rich man had exceeding many sheep and oxen.

³But the poor man had nothing at all but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and which had grown up in his house together with his children, eating of his bread, and drinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom: and it was unto him as a daughter.

⁴And when a certain stranger was come to the rich man, he spared to take of his own sheep and oxen, to make a feast for that stranger, who was come to him, but took the poor man’s ewe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

⁵And David’s anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death.

⁶He shall restore the ewe fourfold, because he did this thing, and had no pity.

⁷And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul,

⁸And gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and Juda: and if these things be little, I shall add far greater things unto thee.

⁹Why therefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do evil in my sight? Thou hast killed Urias the Hethite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

¹⁰Therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be thy wife.

¹¹Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes and give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

¹²For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and in the sight of the sun.

¹³And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David: The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die.

¹⁴Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee, shall surely die.

¹⁵And Nathan returned to his house. The Lord also struck the child which the wife of Urias had borne to David, and his life was despaired of.

¹⁶And David besought the Lord for the child: and David kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the ground.

¹⁷And the ancients of his house came, to make him rise from the ground: but he would not, neither did he eat meat with them.

¹⁸And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died: and the servants of David feared to tell him, that the child was dead. For they said: Behold when the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how much more will he afflict himself if we tell him that the child is dead?

¹⁹But when David saw his servants whispering, he understood that the child was dead: and he said to his servants: Is the child dead? They answered him He is dead.

²⁰Then David arose from the ground, and washed and anointed himself: and when he had changed his apparel, he went into the house of the Lord: and worshipped, and then he came into his own house, and he called for bread, and ate.

²¹And his servants said to him: What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise up, and eat bread.

²²And he said: While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept for him: for I said: Who knoweth whether the Lord may not give him to me, and the child may live?

²³But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Shall I be able to bring him back any more? I shall go to him rather: but he shall not return to me.

²⁴And David comforted Bethsabee his wife, and went in unto her, and slept with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him.

²⁵And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name, Amiable to the Lord, because the Lord loved him.

²⁶And Joab fought against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and laid close siege to the royal city.

²⁷And Joab sent messengers to David, saying: I have fought against Rabbath, and the city of waters is about to be taken.

²⁸Now therefore gather thou the rest of the people together, and besiege the city and take it: lest when the city shall be wasted by me, the victory be ascribed to my name.

²⁹Then David gathered all the people together, and went out against Rabbath: and after fighting, he took it.

³⁰And he took the crown of their king from his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, set with most precious stones, and it was put upon David’s head, and the spoils of the city which were very great he carried away.

³¹And bringing forth the people thereof he sawed them, and drove over them chariots armed with iron: and divided them with knives, and made them pass through brickkilns: so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon: and David returned, with all the army to Jerusalem.

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