2 Samuel

David’s Penance

So the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan told the king: “There were two men in a city: one was rich; the other, poor.

The rich man had many sheep and cattle,

but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb he had bought. He fed it, and it grew with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and slept on his lap. It was like a daughter to him.

A traveler came to the rich man, but he would not take from his own flock or herd to prepare food for the traveler. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”

David was furious because of this man and told Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves death!

He must return the lamb fourfold for acting like this and showing no compassion.”

Nathan said to David: “You are this man! The Lord, God of Israel, speaks: ‘I anointed you king over Israel and saved you from Saul’s hands;

I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives; I also gave you the nation of Israel and Judah. But if this were not enough, I would have given you even more.

Why did you despise the Lord by doing what displeases him? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife for yourself. Yes, you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Now, the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.

Thus says the Lord: Your misfortune will rise from your own house! I will take your wives from you and give them to your neighbor, who shall lie with them in broad daylight.

What you did was done secretly, but what I do will be done before Israel in broad daylight.”

David told Nathan: “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered: “The Lord has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.

However, because you have dared to despise the Lord by doing such a thing, the child that is born to you shall die.”

Then Nathan went to his home.The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill.

David entreated God for the child. He kept a strict fast and lay on the ground the whole night.

The elders of his house asked him to rise from the ground, but he refused. Nor did he join them to eat.

On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: “When the child was still alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to us. What will he do if we tell him the child is dead?”

When David saw his servants whispering to one another, he realized that the child was dead and asked them: “Is the child dead?” They replied: “He is dead.”

Then David rose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He entered the house of the Lord and worshiped. After that, he went to his own home, asked for food, and ate.

His servants asked him: “Why are you acting like this? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but after it died, you got up and took food.”

David answered: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, thinking: who knows? Perhaps the Lord will be kind to me and let my child live.

But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back to life? I can go to him, but he cannot return to me.”

David comforted his wife, Bathsheba. He went in and slept with her, and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. The Lord loved him

and made it known through Nathan the prophet, who called him Jedidiah on the Lord’s behalf.

Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and conquered the king’s city.

Then he sent messengers to David and told him: “I have fought against Rabbah and conquered the city of waters.

Gather, then, the rest of the people to attack and capture the city, lest I myself do it and the city be called by my name.”

So David mustered the people, attacked and captured Rabbah.

He took the crown off Milcom’s head, the weight of which was a gold talent and had a precious stone embedded in it. They put this on David’s head. He carried off an amount of booty

and brought away the people he set to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, making them work at the brick kilns. David dealt like this with all the Ammonite cities, then returned to Jerusalem with all the people.