Nathan Rebukes David

1Then Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor.”

2The rich man had very many sheep and cattle.

3But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He kept it alive, and it grew up with him and with his children together; it would eat from his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.

4A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared taking from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

5Then David burned with anger against the man greatly, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is a son of death!”

6And he must repay the ewe lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.”

8And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your bosom, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you such and such things.

9Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do what is evil in his sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and took his wife for yourself as a wife, and 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 Yahweh: Behold, I am raising up disaster against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

12For you did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

13Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” And Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.”

14Nevertheless, because by this matter you have utterly scorned the enemies of Yahweh, the son born to you will surely die.