1 And the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men {anashim: adult males} in one city, one was rich and the other was poor.”
2 There was to a wealthy man {ashir: wealthy individual} a very great number of flocks {tson: sheep and goats} and cattle.
3 And for the poor man {rash: needy individual}, there was nothing except one little ewe-lamb which he had acquired, and he kept her alive, and she grew up with him and with his children together. From his morsel she would eat, and from his cup she would drink, and in his bosom she would lie. She was to him like a daughter {bat: cherished child}.
4 And a traveler came to the rich man, and he spared {yakhmol: refrained} taking from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb {kivsath: young female sheep} of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.
5 And David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD {YHWH, Oath Witness} lives, surely the man who has done this is a son of death {ben-mavet: one deserving execution}.”
6 And as for the ewe lamb {kivsah: young female sheep}, he shall pay fourfold, because he did this thing {davar: deed} and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge}, the God of Israel {Elohei Yisrael, Covenant Guardian}: I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.”
8 And I {YHWH, Sovereign Giver} gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom {cheik: close embrace}, and I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. If that had been too little, I would have added to you like these and like these.
9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD {YHWH, Moral Judge} by doing what is evil in My eyes {beeinai: divine perspective}? You struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife for yourself as a wife, and you killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 And now the sword {cherev: instrument of judgment} will not depart from your house forever, because you have despised Me {YHWH, Righteous Upholder} and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge}: “Behold, I will raise calamity against you from your own household, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun {shemesh: symbol of exposure}.”
12 For you did it in secret {satar: hidden act}, but I {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.
13 And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge}.” And Nathan said to David, “Also, the LORD has removed your sin {chatat: willful wrongdoing}; you shall not die.”
14 Nevertheless, because in this matter you have shown utter contempt for the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge}, the son born to you will surely die {mōṯ: certain death}.
15 And Nathan went to his house. Then the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} struck the child {yeled: young boy} whom the wife of Uriah bore to David, and he became ill.
16 And David sought God {Elohim, Compassionate Healer} on behalf of the boy, and David fasted; then he came, spent the night, and lay on the ground {eretz: humble earth}.
17 And the elders of his household arose over him to raise him up from the ground, but he was not willing {avah: to consent}, and he did not eat bread {lechem: common food} with them.
18 And it happened on the seventh day that the child died, and David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, “Behold {hinneh: emphatic introducer}, while the child was alive, we spoke to him and he did not heed our voice {beqolenu: what we said}. How then can we tell him, ‘The Child is dead’? He may do harm.”
19 And David saw that his servants {avadim: household attendants} were whispering, and David understood that the child was dead {met: lifeless}. Then he said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” and they replied, “He is dead.”
20 And David rose from the ground, and he washed, and he anointed himself, and he changed his garments {simlotav: outer clothing}. Then he entered the house of the LORD {YHWH, Worship Receiver} and bowed down. Afterward he went home, asked, they set bread before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? For the sake of the child, while he was alive, you fasted {tsamta: ritual abstention} and wept. But when the child died, you arose and ate bread {lachem: basic sustenance}.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted {tsamti: voluntary abstaining for prayer} and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows if the LORD {YHWH, Mercy Giver} may show favor to me and let the child live?’”
23 And now that he is dead, why should I fast {tsam: solemn abstinence}? Can I bring him back {lahashivo: hope for restoration}? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.
24 And David comforted {vayinakhem: emotional restoration} his wife Bathsheba, and he went in to her and lay with her; she bore a son and called his name Solomon; and the LORD {YHWH, Affectionate Father} loved him.
25 And He sent by the hand of Nathan {natan: prophetic messenger} the prophet, and Nathan called his name Jedidiah for the sake of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Giver}.
26 Joab fought against Rabbah {rabbat: Ammonite fortress} of the sons of Ammon, and he captured the royal city {hamelukhah: ruling center}.
27 And Joab sent messengers {malakhim: official envoys} to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured the city of water {ir hamayim: fortified water source}.”
28 And now, gather the remainder {yeter: survivors remaining} of the people and encamp {vachaneh: siege encampment} against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city myself and my name be called upon it.
29 Then David {Dawid: Warrior King} gathered all the people {kal: entire assembly}, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.
30 And he took the crown {’ăṭeret: royal insignia} of their king from upon his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, and it contained a precious stone; then it was placed upon David’s head. And he brought out an abundant spoil {ū·šə·lāl: war plunder} from the city.
31 He brought out the people who were in the city, set them to work with saws, iron tools, and axes, and made them pass through the brick kiln. He did so to all the cities of the sons of Ammon{ammon: ancient neighboring nation}. Then David{david: king of Israel} and all the people returned to Jerusalem.