2
Samuel 12: 1-13
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The 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. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and
cattle, 3 but 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.
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."
5 David burned with anger against the
man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves
to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because
he did such a thing and had no pity."
7 Then 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. 8 I gave
your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house
of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even
more. 9 Why 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. 10
Now, 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.'
11 "This is what the LORD says:
'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I
will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your
wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will
do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then 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.
