1. and he sent Nathan the prophet to tell this story to David:A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town.
2. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle,
3. but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children.
4. One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn't want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man's little lamb and served it instead.
5. David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this deserves to die!
6. And because he didn't have any pity on the poor man, he will have to pay four times what the lamb was worth.”
7. Then Nathan told David:You are that rich man! Now listen to what the Lord God of Israel says to you: “I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul
8. and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more.
9. Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by letting the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife.
10. “Because you wouldn't obey me and took Uriah's wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace.
11. Someone from your own family will cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on.
12. What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see.”
13-14. David said, “I have disobeyed the Lord.”“Yes, you have!” Nathan answered. “You showed you didn't care what the Lord wanted. He has forgiven you, and you won't die. But your newborn son will.”
15. Then Nathan went back home.The Lord made David's young son very sick.
16. So David went without eating to show his sorrow, and he begged God to make the boy well. David would not sleep on his bed, but spent each night lying on the floor.
17. His officials stood beside him and tried to talk him into getting up. But he would not get up or eat with them.
18. After the child had been sick for seven days, he died, but the officials were afraid to tell David. They said to each other, “Even when the boy was alive, David wouldn't listen to us. How can we tell him his son is dead? He might do something terrible!”
19. David noticed his servants whispering, and he knew the boy was dead. “Has my son died?” he asked his servants.“Yes, he has,” they answered.