2 Samuel 12 - 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

12 And 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.

2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds.

3 But 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 ate of his own meat and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

4 And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he was unwilling to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man who had come unto him, but took the poor man’s lamb and dressed it for the man who had come to him.”

5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord liveth, the man who hath done this thing shall surely die.

6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

7 And 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,

8 and 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.

9 Why 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 neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou did 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 However, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born unto thee shall surely die.”

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore 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 spoke 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 worshiped. Then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him and he ate.

21 Then said his servants unto him, “What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou did fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou did rise and eat bread.”

22 And 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?’

23 But 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.”

24 And David comforted Bathsheba 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.

25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name Jedidiah [that is, Beloved of the Lord], because of the Lord.

26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah and have taken from the city its waters.

28 Now 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.”

29 And David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

30 And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight of which 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.

31 And he brought forth the people who 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.

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2 Samuel 12 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

12 And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor; 2 The rich hath flocks and herds very many; 3 And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth ...
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2 Samuel 12 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

12 Therefore the Lord sent Nathan to David; and when he had come to David, he said to him, Answer thou a doom to me (Give thou to me your judgement on this); two men were in one city; one man was rich, and the tother was poor. 2 The rich man had full many sheep, and oxen; 3 and the poor man had utte...
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2 Samuel 12 - World English Bible (WEB)

12 Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with hi...
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2 Samuel 12 - The Voice (VOICE)

At first glance, David seems no different than many people who are given power and who use it without regard for what is right or what is fair. In this affair, David looks like the rich and powerful leaders the Hebrew prophets elsewhere in the Old Testament are constantly condemning. He has a moral ...
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2 Samuel 12 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Nathan Confronts David12 Then Adonai sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said to him, “There were two men in the same city—one was rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had an exceedingly huge flock and herd, 3 but the poor man had nothing at all, except one little ewe lamb, which he h...
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2 Samuel 12 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Nathan Condemns David12 And 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. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he bro...
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2 Samuel 12 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Nathan Condemns David12 And 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. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he bro...
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2 Samuel 12 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Nathan Condemns DavidBut the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, 12 1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but...
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2 Samuel 12 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

12 1 and 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.(A)2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up...
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2 Samuel 12 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Nathan Rebukes David12 So 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. 2 The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. 3 The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, ...
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2 Samuel 12 - New Life Version (NLV)

Nathan’s Picture-Story about David12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in one city. One was rich and the other was poor. 2 The rich man had many flocks and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb which he bought and fed. I...
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2 Samuel 12 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And (A)he came to him, and (B)said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb wh...
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2 Samuel 12 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Nathan rebukes David12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, ‘There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raise...
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2 Samuel 12 - New International Version (NIV)

Nathan Rebukes David(A)12 The Lord sent Nathan(B) to David.(C) When he came to him,(D) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He ...
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2 Samuel 12 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Nathan Tells David He Has Sinned12 The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. When Nathan came to him, he said, “Two men lived in the same town. One was rich. The other was poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle. 3 But all the poor man had was one little female lamb. He h...
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2 Samuel 12 - New English Translation (NET)

Nathan the Prophet Confronts David12 So the Lord sent Nathan[a] to David. When he came to David,[b] Nathan[c] said,[d] “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he ha...
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