| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. | 1The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. |
| 2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: | 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, |
| 3But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. | 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. |
| 4And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. | 4"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." |
| 5And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: | 5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! |
| 6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. | 6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." |
| 7And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; | 7Then 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 from the hand of Saul. |
| 8And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. | 8I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. |
| 9Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. | 9Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. |
| 10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. | 10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' |
| 11Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. | 11"This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. |
| 12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. | 12You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" |
| 13And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. | 13Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. |
| 14Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. | 14But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die." |
| 15And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. | 15After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. |
| 16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. | 16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. |
| 17And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. | 17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food 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, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? | 18On the seventh day the child died. David's attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, he wouldn't listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." |
| 19But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. | 19David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." |
| 20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. | 20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. |
| 21Then said his servants unto 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 and eat bread. | 21His attendants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" |
| 22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? | 22He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' |
| 23But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. | 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." |
| 24And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. | 24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; |
| 25And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. | 25and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. |
| 26And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. | 26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. |
| 27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. | 27Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. |
| 28Now 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 after my name. | 28Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me." |
| 29And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. | 29So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. |
| 30And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. | 30David took the crown from their king's head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city |
| 31And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. | 31and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. |
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