2 Samuel

And 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. Nathan was a prophet, a man who told people what God said. Nathan came and told him a story. "Two men lived in one town. One was rich. One was poor."

2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

2"The rich man had very many sheep and cows."

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.

3"The poor man had nothing but one little girl lamb. He had bought her and raised her. She grew up with him and his children. She ate his food and drank from his cup. She slept in his arms. She was like a daughter to him."

NoteThe King James Bible says the lamb ate the man's "meat." In 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind, not just animal meat.

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"A traveler came to visit the rich man. The rich man did not want to cook one of his own sheep or cows. So he took the poor man's lamb instead. He cooked it for his visitor."

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 became very angry at that man. He said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, that man should die!"

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

6"He must pay back four lambs for the one lamb. He did this thing, and he felt no pity at all."

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;

7Nathan said to David, "You are that man." Then he said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I made you king over Israel. I kept you safe from 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.

8"I gave you your master's house. I gave you his wives to be your own. I gave you the people of Israel and Judah. If that was not enough, I would have given you much 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.

9"So why did you push aside what the Lord told you? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You had Uriah the Hittite killed with a sword. You took his wife to be your wife. The army of Ammon killed him for you."

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.

10"So now fighting and killing will never leave your family. You turned away from me. You took Uriah's wife to be your own wife."

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. I will bring trouble on you from inside your own family. I will take your wives away while you watch. I will give them to a man close to you. He will sleep with them in the open daylight."

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

12"You did your wrong in secret. I will do this where all Israel can see it."

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.

13David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan said to David, "The Lord has taken your sin away. You will not 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.

14"But what you did gives the Lord's enemies a reason to say bad things about him. So the baby boy 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.

15Then Nathan went home. The Lord made the baby sick. It was the child Uriah's wife had with David. The baby was very sick.

16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

16David begged God to let the boy live. He would not eat. He went inside and lay on the ground all night.

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 leaders of his house came and stood beside him. They tried to lift him up from the ground. He would not get up. 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 baby died. David's servants were afraid to tell him. They said, "He would not listen to us while the child was alive. What will he do if we say the child is dead? He might even hurt himself."

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 saw his servants whispering to each other. He knew then that the baby had died. He asked them, "Is the child dead?" They said, "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.

20David got up from the ground. He washed and rubbed oil on his skin. He put on clean clothes. He went to the Lord's house and worshipped there. Then he went home and asked for 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 servants asked him, "Why are you doing this? You cried and would not eat while the child was alive. Now he is dead, and 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?

22David said, "While the child was alive, I cried and would not eat. I thought, who knows? Maybe God will be kind and let him 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.

23"But now he is dead. Why should I stop eating? I cannot bring him back. One day I will go to him. He will not come back 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.

24David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her, and later she had a son. They named him Solomon. The Lord loved the boy.

25And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

25The Lord sent a message through Nathan the prophet. Nathan gave the boy another name, Jedidiah. That name means "loved by the Lord."

26And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

26Joab fought against Rabbah, a city of the Ammonites. He captured the part where the king lived.

27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

27Joab sent messengers to David with this word. "I have fought against Rabbah. I have taken the part of the city that holds the water."

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.

28"Now bring the rest of the soldiers here. Camp around the city and take it. If I take it, the city 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 gathered all his soldiers together. He went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took 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 off their king's head. It was made of gold and had costly stones in it. It weighed about seventy-five pounds. They set it on David's head. David also carried away many valuable things from the city.

NoteA "talent" was a weight used long ago. One talent of gold was about seventy-five pounds.

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 brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

31David brought out the people who lived there. He put them to work with saws and iron picks and axes. He made them work at the brick ovens. He did the same thing in all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all his soldiers went back to Jerusalem.

NoteThe King James wording, "put them under saws," can sound like David hurt the people with tools. The Hebrew is more likely about forced work with saws, picks, and axes, and scholars do not fully agree.