1 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 did eat 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 traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was 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 that 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 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.
21 Then 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.
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, wherefore 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 bare 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, 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 the city of 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 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.
31 And 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 brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
<html><b>A traveler came.</b> [Noson] compared the evil inclination at first to a sojourner that is [quickly] going on his way. Afterwords he is compared to a guest that has become a resident and afterwords he is compared to a man who is the owner of the house.1<i class=“footnote”>This verse is Noson’s parable alluding to the evil inclination. The visiton is first referred to as <span>הֵלֶךְ</span>, then <span>אׂרֵחַ</span> and finally as an <span>אִישׁ</span>, representing the evil inclination’s ability to take more and more control over its victim’s life.</i></html>
<html><b>Is worthy of death.</b> Someone who steals from a poor person is tantamount to taking his life2<i class=“footnote”>See Baba Kama 119a. Stealing a pruta from anyone is tantamount to killing him.</i> as it is said, “He has taken it's owner's life.”3<i class=“footnote”>Mishlei 1:19.</i></html>
<html><b>Pay fourfold.</b> This is what [eventually] happened, he was punished with [problems concerning] four children the child4<i class=“footnote”>Related further on in verse 15.</i> and Amnon Tomor and Avsholom.5<i class=“footnote”>The events with Amnon, Tomor and Avsholom start in chapter 13.</i></html>
<html><b>Your master's woman.</b> Michal, the daughter of Shaul. <b>I will add on.</b> I would add on for you.</html>
<html><b>Because you have angered the enemies of Adonoy.</b> This is a euphimism a way [to be] respectable to on High.6<i class=“footnote”>Using “enemies of God” to stand in for God in order for the word “angered” not to have to be applied to Him in a direct way.</i> Yonasan translated, Because you have opened up you have opened the mouth of [those] who hate the people of God.</html>
<html><b>[He became sick.]</b> [This word] denotes sickness.</html>
<html><b>And came to repose and lied on the ground.</b> And came [back] to the house and reposed at night lying on the ground.</html>
<html><b>And he did not eat.</b> [A word] denoting eating like [we find], “I will eat from her hand.”7<i class=“footnote”>Later, 13:6.</i></html>
<html><b>Because of God.</b> That loved him [Shlomo].8<i class=“footnote”><span>יֽדִידְיָה</span> is a concatanation of <span>יֽדִיד</span>, beloved one and <span>יָה</span>, God.</i></html>
<html><b>The royal city.</b> There were two enforced walls [of cities] in it, an outside one and an inside one. The outside city was [called] the royal city, and the inside [city] was a fortress and stronghold.9<i class=“footnote”>Yoav left this one for Dovid to conquer as is stated in verse 29.</i></html>
<html><b>The crown of Malkom.</b> The abomination [idol] of the people of Ammon's name was Malkom. Denoting [the word] Moleich.10<i class=“footnote”><span>מוֹלֶךְ</span> is an idol to whom children were sacrificed.</i> <b>It was [hung over] Dovid's head.</b> Itai the Gitite annulled it.11<i class=“footnote”>This explanation of the verse is stated in Avodah Zoroh 24. It is prohibited for Jews to derive any pleasure from the idols of gentiles. They must be anulled by a gentile, i.e., taken out of the service of idol worship, after which they are permitted to Jews. Itai the Gitite, a gentile, did this to Malkom for Dovid’s sake.</i></html>
<html><b>Saw-like utensils, iron threshing utensils and iron axes.</b> They are types of tortures. <b>Saw-like utensils.</b> A knife serrated with many [sharp] edges bent towards each other. <b>Threshing utensils.</b> This is a hacked saw full of cuts like “many sharp edges”12<i class=“footnote”>Shmuel I, 13:21.</i> that is called laime (O.F.). <b>The streets.</b> In the mud of the streets and so Yonason [also] translated: “He dragged them in the streets.”</html>