Wherefore 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.

10 Now 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.

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

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

13 And 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.

14 Howbeit, 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.

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

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

17 And 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.

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19 But 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.

20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

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Why did you despise(A) the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down(B) Uriah(C) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed(D) him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword(E) 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(F) I am going to bring calamity on you.(G) 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.(H) 12 You did it in secret,(I) but I will do this thing in broad daylight(J) before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned(K) against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away(L) your sin.(M) You are not going to die.(N) 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord,(O) the son born to you will die.”

15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck(P) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying(Q) in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused,(R) and he would not eat any food with them.(S)

18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,(T) put on lotions and changed his clothes,(U) he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:14 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text for the enemies of
  2. 2 Samuel 12:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have in sackcloth.