1. L'Eternel envoya Nathan vers David. Et Nathan vint à lui, et lui dit: Il y avait dans une ville deux hommes, l'un riche et l'autre pauvre.
2. Le riche avait des brebis et des boeufs en très grand nombre.
3. Le pauvre n'avait rien du tout qu'une petite brebis, qu'il avait achetée; il la nourrissait, et elle grandissait chez lui avec ses enfants; elle mangeait de son pain, buvait dans sa coupe, dormait sur son sein, et il la regardait comme sa fille.
4. Un voyageur arriva chez l'homme riche. Et le riche n'a pas voulu toucher à ses brebis ou à ses boeufs, pour préparer un repas au voyageur qui était venu chez lui; il a pris la brebis du pauvre, et l'a apprêtée pour l'homme qui était venu chez lui.
5. La colère de David s'enflamma violemment contre cet homme, et il dit à Nathan: L'Eternel est vivant! L'homme qui a fait cela mérite la mort.
6. Et il rendra quatre brebis, pour avoir commis cette action et pour avoir été sans pitié.
7. Et Nathan dit à David: Tu es cet homme-là! Ainsi parle l'Eternel, le Dieu d'Israël: Je t'ai oint pour roi sur Israël, et je t'ai délivré de la main de Saül;
8. je t'ai mis en possession de la maison de ton maître, j'ai placé dans ton sein les femmes de ton maître, et je t'ai donné la maison d'Israël et de Juda. Et si cela eût été peu, j'y aurais encore ajouté.
9. Pourquoi donc as-tu méprisé la parole de l'Eternel, en faisant ce qui est mal à ses yeux? Tu as frappé de l'épée Urie, le Héthien; tu as pris sa femme pour en faire ta femme, et lui, tu l'as tué par l'épée des fils d'Ammon.
10. Maintenant, l'épée ne s'éloignera jamais de ta maison, parce que tu m'as méprisé, et parce que tu as pris la femme d'Urie, le Héthien, pour en faire ta femme.
11. Ainsi parle l'Eternel: Voici, je vais faire sortir de ta maison le malheur contre toi, et je vais prendre sous tes yeux tes propres femmes pour les donner à un autre, qui couchera avec elles à la vue de ce soleil.
12. Car tu as agi en secret; et moi, je ferai cela en présence de tout Israël et à la face du soleil.
13. David dit à Nathan: J'ai péché contre l'Eternel! Et Nathan dit à David: L'Eternel pardonne ton péché, tu ne mourras point.
14. Mais, parce que tu as fait blasphémer les ennemis de l'Eternel, en commettant cette action, le fils qui t'est né mourra.
15. Et Nathan s'en alla dans sa maison. L'Eternel frappa l'enfant que la femme d'Urie avait enfanté à David, et il fut dangereusement malade.
16. David pria Dieu pour l'enfant, et jeûna; et quand il rentra, il passa la nuit couché par terre.
17. Les anciens de sa maison insistèrent auprès de lui pour le faire lever de terre; mais il ne voulut point, et il ne mangea rien avec eux.
18. Le septième jour, l'enfant mourut. Les serviteurs de David craignaient de lui annoncer que l'enfant était mort. Car ils disaient: Voici, lorsque l'enfant vivait encore, nous lui avons parlé, et il ne nous a pas écoutés; comment oserons-nous lui dire: L'enfant est mort? Il s'affligera bien davantage.
19. David aperçut que ses serviteurs parlaient tout bas entre eux, et il comprit que l'enfant était mort. Il dit à ses serviteurs: L'enfant est-il mort? Et ils répondirent: Il est mort.
20. Alors David se leva de terre. Il se lava, s'oignit, et changea de vêtements; puis il alla dans la maison de l'Eternel, et se prosterna. De retour chez lui, il demanda qu'on lui servît à manger, et il mangea.
21. Ses serviteurs lui dirent: Que signifie ce que tu fais? Tandis que l'enfant vivait, tu jeûnais et tu pleurais; et maintenant que l'enfant est mort, tu te lèves et tu manges!
22. Il répondit: Lorsque l'enfant vivait encore, je jeûnais et je pleurais, car je disais: Qui sait si l'Eternel n'aura pas pitié de moi et si l'enfant ne vivra pas?
23. Maintenant qu'il est mort, pourquoi jeûnerais-je? Puis-je le faire revenir? J'irai vers lui, mais il ne reviendra pas vers moi.
24. David consola Bath-Schéba, sa femme, et il alla auprès d'elle et coucha avec elle. Elle enfanta un fils qu'il appela Salomon, et qui fut aimé de l'Eternel.
25. Il le remit entre les mains de Nathan le prophète, et Nathan lui donna le nom de Jedidja, à cause de l'Eternel.
26. Joab, qui assiégeait Rabba des fils d'Ammon, s'empara de la ville royale,
27. et envoya des messagers à David pour lui dire: J'ai attaqué Rabba, et je me suis déjà emparé de la ville des eaux;
28. rassemble maintenant le reste du peuple, campe contre la ville, et prends-la, de peur que je ne la prenne moi-même et que la gloire ne m'en soit attribuée.
29. David rassembla tout le peuple, et marcha sur Rabba; il l'attaqua, et s'en rendit maître.
30. Il enleva la couronne de dessus la tête de son roi: elle pesait un talent d'or et était garnie de pierres précieuses. On la mit sur la tête de David, qui emporta de la ville un très grand butin.
31. Il fit sortir les habitants, et il les plaça sous des scies, des herses de fer et des haches de fer, et les fit passer par des fours à briques; il traita de même toutes les villes des fils d'Ammon. David retourna à Jérusalem avec tout le peuple.
1. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And Nathan came to him and said, There were two men in the same town: one a man of great wealth, and the other a poor man.
2. The man of wealth had great numbers of flocks and herds;
3. But the poor man had only one little she-lamb, which he had got and taken care of: from its birth it had been with him like one of his children; his meat was its food, and from his cup it took its drink, resting in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4. Now a traveller came to the house of the man of wealth, but he would not take anything from his flock or his herd to make a meal for the traveller who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and made it ready for the man who had come.
5. And David was full of wrath against that man; and he said to Nathan, By the living Lord, death is the right punishment for the man who has done this:
6. And he will have to give back four times the value of the lamb, because he has done this and because he had no pity.
7. And Nathan said to David, You are that man. The Lord God of Israel says, I made you king over Israel, putting holy oil on you, and I kept you safe from the hands of Saul;
8. I gave you your master's daughter and your master's wives for yourself, and I gave you the daughters of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you such and such things.
9. Why then have you had no respect for the word of the Lord, doing what is evil in his eyes? You have put Uriah the Hittite to death with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife; you have put him to death with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10. So now the sword will never be turned away from your family; because you have had no respect for me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11. The Lord says, From those of your family I will send evil against you, and before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he will take your wives to his bed by the light of this sun.
12. You did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and in the light of the sun.
13. And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you.
14. But still, because you have had no respect for the Lord, death will certainly overtake the child who has newly come to birth.
15. Then Nathan went back to his house. And the hand of the Lord was on David's son, the child of Uriah's wife, and it became very ill.
16. So David made prayer to God for the child; and he took no food day after day, and went in and, stretching himself out on the earth, was there all night.
17. And the chief men of his house got up and went to his side to make him get up from the earth, but he would not; and he would not take food with them.
18. And then on the seventh day the child's death took place. And David's servants were in fear of giving him the news of the child's death: for they said, Truly, while the child was still living he gave no attention when we said anything to him: what will he do to himself if we give him word that the child is dead?
19. But when David saw that his servants were talking together quietly, he was certain that the child was dead: and he said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is.
20. Then David got up from the earth, and after washing and rubbing himself with oil and changing his clothing, he went into the house of the Lord and gave worship: then he went back to his house, and at his order they put food before him and he had a meal.
21. Then his servants said to him, Why have you been acting in this way? you were weeping and going without food while the child was still living; but when the child was dead, you got up and had a meal.
22. And he said, While the child was still living I went without food and gave myself up to weeping: for I said, Who is able to say that the Lord will not have mercy on me and give the child life?
23. But now that the child is dead there is no reason for me to go without food; am I able to make him come back to life? I will go to him, but he will never come back to me.
24. And David gave comfort to his wife Bath-sheba, and he went in to her and had connection with her: and she had a son to whom she gave the name Solomon. And he was dear to the Lord.
25. And he sent word by Nathan the prophet, who gave him the name Jedidiah, by the word of the Lord.
26. Now Joab was fighting against Rabbah, in the land of the children of Ammon, and he took the water-town.
27. And Joab sent men to David, saying, I have made war against Rabbah and have taken the water-town.
28. So now, get the rest of the people together, and put them in position against the town and take it, for if I take it, it will be named after my name.
29. Then David got all the people together and went to Rabbah and made war on it and took it.
30. And he took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it were stones of great price; and it was put on David's head. And he took a great store of goods from the town.
31. And he took the people out of the town and put them to work with wood-cutting instruments, and iron grain-crushers, and iron axes, and at brick-making: this he did to all the towns of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people went back to Jerusalem.
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