2 Samuel 8-12
New American Standard Bible
3Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the Euphrates River.
4And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.
5When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans.
6Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.
7David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.
9Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,
10Toi sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.
11King David also consecrated these gifts to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued:
12from Aram, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Arameans in the Valley of Salt.
14He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.
15So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.
16Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary.
17Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe.
18Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.
Chapter 9
1Then David said, 'Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul, so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?' 2Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, 'Are you Ziba?' And he said, 'I am your servant.' 3Then the king said, 'Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the kindness of God?' And Ziba said to the king, 'There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.' 4So the king said to him, 'Where is he?' And Ziba said to the king, 'Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.' 5Then King David sent messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, 'Mephibosheth.' And he said, 'Here is your servant!' 7Then David said to him, 'Do not be afraid, for I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you yourself shall eat at my table regularly.' 8Again he prostrated himself, and said, 'What is your servant, that you should be concerned about a dead dog like me?'
9Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, 'Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.
10You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson will have food to eat; nevertheless Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall eat at my table regularly.' Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11Then Ziba said to the king, 'In accordance with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.' So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.
12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he ate at the king’s table regularly. And he was disabled in his two feet.
Chapter 10
1Now it happened afterward that the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. 2Then David said, 'I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.' So David sent some of his servants to console him about his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, 3the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, 'Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants to console you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?' 4So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. 5When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, 'Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return.'
6Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men.
7When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors.
8And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.
9Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans.
10But the remainder of the people he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon.
11And he said, 'If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.
12Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.'
13So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him.
14When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
15When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they assembled together.
16And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them.
17Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him.
18But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there.
19When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.
2Now at evening time David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
3So David sent servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, 'Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'
4Then David sent messengers and had her brought, and when she came to him, he slept with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
5But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, 'I am pregnant.'
6Then David sent word to Joab: 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' So Joab sent Uriah to David.
7When Uriah came to him, David asked about Joab’s well-being and that of the people, and the condition of the war.
8Then David said to Uriah, 'Go down to your house, and wash your feet.' So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10Now when they informed David, saying, 'Uriah did not go down to his house,' David said to Uriah, 'Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?'
11And Uriah said to David, 'The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.'
12Then David said to Uriah, 'Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go back.' So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the day after.
13Now David summoned Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he made Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, and he still did not go down to his house.
14So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15He had written in the letter the following: 'Station Uriah on the front line of the fiercest battle and pull back from him, so that he may be struck and killed.'
16So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men.
17And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18Then Joab sent a messenger and reported to David all the events of the war.
19He ordered the messenger, saying, 'When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king,
20then it shall be that if the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you move against the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’?'
22So the messenger departed and came and reported to David everything that Joab had sent him to tell.
23The messenger said to David, 'The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate.
24Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'
25Then David said to the messenger, 'This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; fight with determination against the city and overthrow it’; and thereby encourage him.'
26Now when Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27When the time of mourning was over, David sent servants and had her brought to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Chapter 12
1Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, 'There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor. 2The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds. 3But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nurtured; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie in his lap, And was like a daughter to him.
5Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this certainly deserves to die!
6So he must make restitution for the lamb four times over, since he did this thing and had no compassion.'
7Nathan then said to David, 'You yourself are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul.
8I also gave you your master’s house and put your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
9Why have you despised the word of the Lord, by doing evil in His sight? You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10Now then, the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.
12Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in open daylight.’?'
13Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.' And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die.
14However, since by this deed you have shown utter disrespect for the Lord, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.'
15Then Nathan went to his house. L ater the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.
16David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
17The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
18Then 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, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?'
19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, 'Is the child dead?' And they said, 'He is dead.'
20So David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.
21Then his servants said to him, 'What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.'
22And he said, 'While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’
23But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.'
24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him,
25and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord’S sake.
26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city.
27Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, 'I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters.
28Now then, gather the rest of the people and camp opposite the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.'
29So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.
30Then he took the crown of their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and it had a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great amounts.
31He also brought out the people who were in it, and put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made others serve at the brick works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
King James Version
Chapter 8
1And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts. 3David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 4And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots. 5And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went. 7And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
10Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;
12Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David got him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
14And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.
15And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.
16And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
18And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.
2And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
3And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
4And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.
5Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.
6Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
7And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
8And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
9Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
10Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
12And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
13So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.
Chapter 10
1And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
4Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
7And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men.
8And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.
9When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians:
10And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.
11And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.
12Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.
13And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him.
14And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
15And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.
16And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.
17And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.
18And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.
19And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
Chapter 11
1And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. 2And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
8And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
11And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
12And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
20And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
21Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
22So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
24And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
25Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
26And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
Chapter 12
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. 2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 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.
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:
6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he 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;
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.
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.
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.
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 neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
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.
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.
15And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore unto David, and it was very sick.
16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
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.
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.
20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
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.
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?
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.
24And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.
25And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
26And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
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.
29And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and 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.
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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
1After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from Philistine control. 2He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.
3David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control at the Euphrates River.
4David captured seventeen hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept a hundred chariots.
5When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.
6Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
7David took the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers and brought them to Jerusalem.
8King David also took huge quantities of bronze from Betah and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities.
9When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
10he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Toi and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Joram had items of silver, gold, and bronze with him.
11King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued —
12from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Amalekites, and the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13David made a reputation for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley.
14He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
4The king asked him, "Where is he?" Ziba answered the king, "You’ll find him in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel."
5So King David had him brought from the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.
9Then the king summoned Saul’s attendant Ziba and said to him, "I have given to your master’s grandson all that belonged to Saul and his family.
10You, your sons, and your servants are to work the ground for him, and you are to bring in the crops so your master’s grandson will have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do all my lord the king commands." So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table just like one of the king’s sons.
12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. All those living in Ziba’s house were Mephibosheth’s servants.
13However, Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table. His feet had been injured.
Chapter 10
1Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.
2Then David said, "I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
3the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, "Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it?"
4So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
7David heard about it and sent Joab and all the elite troops.
8The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were in the field by themselves.
9When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans.
10He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.
11"If the Arameans are too strong for me," Joab said, "then you will be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll come to help you.
12Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done."
13Joab and his troops advanced to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him.
14When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.
15When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.
16Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.
17When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him.
18But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there.
19When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.
2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
3So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, "Isn’t this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hethite?"
4David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home.
5The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: "I am pregnant."
6David sent orders to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hethite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.
7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going.
8Then he said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
12"Stay here today also," David said to Uriah, "and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
16When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.
17Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hethite also died.
18Joab sent someone to report to David all the details of the battle.
19He commanded the messenger, "When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle—
20if the king’s anger gets stirred up and he asks you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall?
21At Thebez, who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the top of the wall so that he died? Why did you get so close to the wall?’—then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hethite is dead also.’"
22Then the messenger left. When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
23The messenger reported to David, "The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the city gate.
24However, the archers shot down on your servants from the top of the wall, and some of the king’s servants died. Your servant Uriah the Hethite is also dead."
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah had died, she mourned for him.
27When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil.
Chapter 12
1So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had very large flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meager food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him. 4Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.
5David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: "As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb."
7Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul.
8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
9Why then have you despised the Lord’s command by doing what I consider evil? You struck down Uriah the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword.
10Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hethite to be your own wife.’
11"This is what the Lord says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them in broad daylight.
12You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’"
13David responded to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Then Nathan replied to David, "And the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.
14However, because you treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die."
15Then Nathan went home. The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became deathly ill.
16David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.
17The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
22He answered, "While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’
23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me."
24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba; he went to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named him Solomon. The Lord loved him,
25and he sent a message through the prophet Nathan, who named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
26Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
27Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, "I have fought against Rabbah and have also captured its water supply.
28Now therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will be the one to capture the city, and it will be named after me."
29So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; he fought against it and captured it.
30He took the crown from the head of their king, and it was placed on David’s head. The crown weighed seventy-five pounds of gold, and it had a precious stone in it. In addition, David took away a large quantity of plunder from the city.
31He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
1After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town. 2David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.
3David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River.
4David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.
5When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them.
6Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
7David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem,
8along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns of Tebah and Berothai.
9When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of Hadadezer,
10he sent his son Joram to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of silver, gold, and bronze.
11King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, as he did with the silver and gold from the other nations he had defeated —
12from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek — and from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13So David became even more famous when he returned from destroying 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
15So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people.
16Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary.
18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. And David’s sons served as priestly leaders.
9Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, 'I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
10You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.' (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants.
13And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.
2David said, 'I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.' So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon,
3the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, 'Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!'
4So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.
6When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob.
7When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them.
8The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.
9When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields.
10He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites.
11If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,' Joab told his brother. 'And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you.
12Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.'
13When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away.
14And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem.
15The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped,
16they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.
17When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David.
18But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army.
19When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.
2Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
3He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, 'She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.'
4Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.
5Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, 'I’m pregnant.'
6Then David sent word to Joab: 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' So Joab sent him to David.
7When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing.
8Then he told Uriah, 'Go on home and relax. ' David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace.
9But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
12Well, stay here today,' David told him, 'and tomorrow you may return to the army.' So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
14So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver.
15The letter instructed Joab, 'Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.'
16So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting.
17And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.
18Then Joab sent a battle report to David.
19He told his messenger, 'Report all the news of the battle to the king.
20But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls?
21Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’'
22So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David.
23The enemy came out against us in the open fields,' he said. 'And as we chased them back to the city gate,
24the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.'
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
Chapter 12
1So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: 'There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. 3The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.'
5David was furious. 'As surely as the Lord lives,' he vowed, 'any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!
6He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.'
7Then Nathan said to David, 'You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.
8I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.
9Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.
10From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.
11This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view.
12You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.'
13Then David confessed to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.' Nathan replied, 'Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.
14Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.'
15After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.
16David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.
17The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.
22David replied, 'I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’
23But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.'
24Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child
25and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means 'beloved of the Lord'), as the Lord had commanded.
26Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.
27Joab sent messengers to tell David, 'I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.
28Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.'
29So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.
30David removed the crown from the king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city.
31He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns. That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
English Standard Version
3David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.
4And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.
5And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians.
6Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
7And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
8And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.
9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,
10Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.
11These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,
12from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David 's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
15So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.
16Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
17and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary,
18and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David 's sons were priests.
Chapter 9
1And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan 's sake?" 2Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." 3And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." 4The king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar." 5Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, "Mephibosheth!" And he answered, "Behold, I am your servant." 7And David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always." 8And he paid homage and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?"
9Then the king called Ziba, Saul 's servant, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master 's grandson.
10And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master 's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master 's grandson shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do." So Mephibosheth ate at David 's table, like one of the king 's sons.
12And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba 's house became Mephibosheth 's servants.
13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king 's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
Chapter 10
1After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2And David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David 's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?" 4So Hanun took David 's servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. 5When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return."
6When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob, 12,000 men.
7And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men.
8And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
9When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians.
10The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites.
11And he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.
12Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him."
13So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
14And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
15But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together.
16And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.
17And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him.
18And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.
19And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.
2It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king 's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
3And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
4So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
5And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."
6So David sent word to Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.
8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king 's house, and there followed him a present from the king.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the king 's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?"
11Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."
12Then David said to Uriah, "Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15In the letter he wrote, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die."
16And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men.
17And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.
18Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting.
19And he instructed the messenger, "When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king,
20then, if the king 's anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’"
22So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
23The messenger said to David, "The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.
24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king 's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also."
25David said to the messenger, "Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him."
26When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.
27And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
Chapter 12
1And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man 's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5Then David 's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8And I gave you your master 's house and your master 's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.
9Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11Thus says the Lord, ‘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 shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’"
13David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die."
15Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah 's wife bore to David, and he became sick.
16David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18On the seventh day 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 did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm."
19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
20Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.
21Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food."
22He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
23But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
24Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him
25and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city.
27And Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters.
28Now then 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."
29So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it.
30And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David 's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.
31And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
New International Version
3Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.
4David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
5When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them.
6He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
7David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
8From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.
9When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
10he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.
11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:
12Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
15David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.
16Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary;
18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.
9Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, "I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
10You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.
13And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
Chapter 10
1In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.
2David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites,
3the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?"
4So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
7On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.
8The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.
9Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.
10He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites.
11Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.
12Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight."
13Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.
14When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
15After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped.
16Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
17When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him.
18But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there.
2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite."
4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
6So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David.
7When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.
8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
12Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15In it he wrote, "Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
16So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
17When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18Joab sent David a full account of the battle.
19He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle,
20the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?
21Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth ? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’ "
22The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.
23The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate.
24Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
Chapter 12
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 a very large number of sheep and cattle, 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.
5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!
6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
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.
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.
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 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 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.
12You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ "
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.
14But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die."
15After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.
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.
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 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."
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 because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.
26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel.
27Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply.
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."
29So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it.
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 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.
New King James Version
3David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates.
4David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians.
6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
7And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8Also from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.
9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,
10then Toi sent Joram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze.
11King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued—
12from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt.
14He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
15So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.
16Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
18Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.
9And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
10You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”
12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
13So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.
2Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon.
3And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”
4Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
5When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”
6When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob twelve thousand men.
7Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.
8Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
9When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians.
10And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon.
11Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.
12Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
13So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
14When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem.
15When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together.
16Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam. And Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them.
17When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him.
18Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
19And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.
2Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “ Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
5And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
6Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
8And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.
9But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
12Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”
16So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war,
19and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king,
20if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ”
22So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him.
23And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate.
24The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”
26When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
Chapter 12
1Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “ As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!
6And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!
9Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
10Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
13So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
14However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
15Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.
16David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
20So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
21Then 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 died, you arose and ate food.”
22And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
23But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
24Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him,
25and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s 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.”
29So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.
30Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.