12So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, “Two men were in a certain city; one was rich and the other was poor. ²The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³but the poor man had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. ⁴And a visitor came to the rich man, but he was reluctant^a to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” ⁵Then the anger of David was kindled^b against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives,^c the man who has done this deserves to die!^d ⁶He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity.” ⁷Then Nathan said to him, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if that had been too little, I would have added to you much more.^e ⁹Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes?^f Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites!^g ¹⁰So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!’ ¹¹Thus says Yahweh, ‘Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives in broad daylight.^h ¹²Though you did this in secret, I will do this thing before all of Israel in broad daylight!’ ”ⁱ

David Repents, But the Child Dies

¹³Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh!”^j Nathan said to David, “Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴But because you have utterly scorned^k Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you will certainly die.”^l ¹⁵Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.

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Footnotes

aLiterally “felt sorry”
bLiterally “the nose of David became very hot”
cLiterally “The life of Yahweh”
dLiterally “is a son of death”
eLiterally “as here and as here”
fThus Kethib; the reading tradition (Qere) reads “my eyes”
gLiterally “sons/children of Ammon”
hLiterally “before the eyes of this sun”
iLiterally “before the sun”
jSee Pss 32:1–5; 51:1–13
kLiterally “scorning you have scorned.” The term “enemies of” in the MT is likely a textual corruption and is deleted here
lLiterally “dying will die” (compare Gen 2:17)