2 Samuel Chapter 12
Other Translations
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David; and he went in to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
2
And the rich [man] had very many flocks and herds.
3
But the poor [man had] only one little ewe lamb, which he had purchased, and preserved, and reared; and it grew up with himself and his children in common; it ate of his bread and drank of his cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
4
And a traveller came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his flocks and of his herds, to dress for the traveller that came to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that came to him.
5
And David was greatly moved with anger against the man; and David said to Nathan, [As] the Lord lives, the man that did this thing shall surely die.
6
And he shall restore the lamb seven-fold, because he has not spared.
7
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man that has done this. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee to be king over Israel, and I rescued thee out of the hand of Saul;
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and I gave thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord into thy bosom, and I gave to thee the house of Israel and Juda; and if that had been little, I would have given thee yet more.
9
Why hast thou set at nought the word of the Lord, to do that which is evil in his eyes? thou hast slain Urias the Chettite with the sword, and thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10
Now therefore the sword shall not depart from thy house for ever, because thou hast set me at nought, and thou hast taken the wife of Urias the Chettite, to be thy wife.
11
Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against thee evil out of thy house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and will give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12
For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and before this sun.
13
And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, And the Lord has put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14
Only because thou hast given great occasion of provocation to the enemies of the Lord by this thing, thy son also that is born to thee shall surely die.
15
And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord smote the child, which the wife of Urias the Chettite bore to David, and it was ill.
16
And David enquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.
17
And the elders of his house arose [and went] to him to raise him up from the ground, but he would not [rise], nor did he eat bread with them.
18
And it came to pass on the seventh day that 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 yet alive we spoke to him, and he hearkened not to our voice; and how should we tell him that the child is dead?—so would he do [himself] harm.
19
And David understood that his servants were whispering, and David perceived that the child was dead: and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead.
20
Then David rose up from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his raiment, and went into the house of God, and worshipped him; and went into his own house, and called for bread to eat, and they set bread before him and he ate.
21
And his servants said to him, What [is] this thing that thou hast done concerning the child? while it was yet living thou didst fast, and weep, and watch: and when the child was dead thou didst rise up, and didst eat bread, and drink.
22
And David said, While the child yet lived, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows if the Lord will pity me, and the child live?
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But now it is dead, why should I fast thus? shall I be able to bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24
And David comforted Bersabee his wife, and he went in to her, and lay with her; and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him.
25
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jeddedi, for the Lord's sake.
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And Joab fought against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
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And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbath, and taken the city of waters.
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And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and take it beforehand; lest I take the city first, and my name be called upon it.
29
And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbath, and fought against it, and took it.
30
And he took the crown of Molchom their king from off his head, and the weight of it was a talent of gold, with precious stones, and it was upon the head of David; and he carried forth very much spoil of the city.
31
And he brought forth the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under iron harrows, and axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus he did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in one city: the one rich, and the other poor.
2
The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
3
but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.
4
A traveler came to the rich man, and he didn’t want to take of his own flock and of his own herd to prepare for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5
David’s anger burned hot against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!
6
He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing 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: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8
I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things.
9
Why have you despised the LORD’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10
Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’
11
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12
For you did this secretly, 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 said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin. You will not die.
14
However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the LORD’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.”
15
Then Nathan departed to his house. The LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he was very sick.
16
David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17
The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them.
18
On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he didn’t listen to our voice. How will he then harm himself if we tell him that the child is dead?”
19
But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”
20
Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothing; and he came into the LORD’s house, and worshiped. Then he came to his own house; and when he requested, they set bread before him and he ate.
21
Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child was dead, you rose up and ate bread.”
22
He said, “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
23
But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24
David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. The LORD loved him;
25
and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah, for the LORD’s sake.
26
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27
Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters.
28
Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.”
29
David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it.
30
He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. He brought a great quantity of plunder out of the city.
31
He brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work under saws, under iron picks, under axes of iron, and made them go to the brick kiln; and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).