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2 Samuel 12:1-31 — Nathan Rebukes David; Death of the Child

2Sam.12.1-31

¹Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³but the poor man had nothing at all, except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He kept it alive, and it grew up with him and with his children together. It would eat from his morsel of food, drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." ⁵Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die! ⁶And he must restore the ewe lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity." ⁷Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that were too little, I would have added to you much more. ⁹Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and you have taken his wife to be your wife, and you have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' ¹¹Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹²For you did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" ¹³David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴However, because by this deed you have given the enemies of the LORD great occasion to despise him , the child who is born to you shall surely die." ¹⁵Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became very sick. ¹⁶David therefore pleaded with God for the boy, and David fasted, and he went in and spent the night lying on the ground . ¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling, and he would not eat food with them. ¹⁸On the seventh day, the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead? He might do something harmful.” ¹⁹But when David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, David perceived that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰Then David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. ²¹His servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²²He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me, and the child may live.' ²³But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." ²⁴Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went in to her and lay with her. She bore a son, and she called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him, ²⁵and he sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah, for the LORD's sake. ²⁶Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. ²⁷Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have captured the city of waters. ²⁸Now therefore, gather the rest of the people, encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city and it be called by my name." ²⁹So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it. ³⁰He took the crown of their king from his head; its weight was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in very great abundance. ³¹And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to saws, and to iron picks, and to iron axes, and made them pass through the brick kiln . And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

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4/11/2026

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