2 Samuel 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.

The Lord had Nathan go to David. Nathan approached him and said, "In a city, there were two people - one had lots of money, while the other had very little."

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

The wealthy person had an extremely large number of sheep and cattle.

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.

But the poor man owned nothing except one small sheep, which he bought and raised. It grew up with him and his kids, sharing his food and drink, resting in his embrace, and he treated it like a daughter.

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.

A traveler arrived at the rich man's place, but instead of using his own animals to feed the guest, he took a poor man's lamb and cooked it for the visitor.

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:

David became very angry with the man and told Nathan, "I swear by God, whoever did this will definitely die."

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

He will make the sheep four times better, since he did that action, and because he showed no mercy.

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;

And Nathan told David, "You are the person." This is what God, the Lord of Israel, says: "I made you the king of Israel, and saved you from Saul's power."

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.

I gave you your master's house and wives, and the houses of Israel and Judah. If that wasn't enough, I would have given you even more things.

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.

Why did you disobey the Lord's commandment and do something bad in front of Him? You killed Uriah the Hittite using a sword, then took his wife for yourself, and then you killed him again with the sword of the Ammonites' children.

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.

So now, a sword will always be with you because you disrespected me and married Uriah's wife.

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.

So says the Lord, "I will bring trouble from within your own family. I will take your wives while you watch, and give them to your neighbor. He will be with your wives in plain view of the sun."

For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

You did it in secret, but I will do it openly, in front of everyone in Israel and under the sun.

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.

David told Nathan he had done wrong against God. Nathan told David that God forgave his mistake and he wouldn't die because of it.

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.

However, since through this action you have provided a major reason for the LORD's enemies to insult Him, the child born to you will certainly die.

And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

Nathan left for his home. Then God made Uriah's wife's baby very ill, and it was seriously sick.

David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

David pleaded with God for the child, so he fasted and spent all night on the ground praying.

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.

The older people in his home got up and went to him to help him stand up. But he refused and didn't eat food with them.

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?

On the seventh day, the child passed away. David's servants were afraid to inform him about the child's death because they thought he wouldn't handle it well since he didn't listen when they spoke while the child was alive.

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.

But when David noticed his helpers whispering, David understood that the child had died. So he asked his helpers, "Is the child dead?" They replied, "Yes, he is dead."

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.

Then David got up, cleaned himself, put on fresh clothes, went to the Lord's house, prayed, and then went home. When he was hungry, they served him food, and he ate it.

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.

Then his servants asked him, "What have you done? You fasted and cried for the child while it lived, but after it died, you got up and ate food."

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?

He said, "While the child was still alive, I didn't eat and cried a lot. I asked, 'Maybe God will be kind to me so my child can live?'"

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.

But now he's gone, why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I'll join him, but he won't come back to me.

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.

David made Bathsheba feel better and then they became close again. She had a baby boy and they named him Solomon. God really liked this child.

And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

He used Nathan the prophet to give a name, Jedidiah, because of God.

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

Joab fought against Rabbah, a city of the Ammon people, and captured the king's city.

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

Joab told David through messengers that he fought in Rabbah, a city known for its water, and won.

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.

So now, bring everyone together and camp against the city to capture it. Do this before I capture it and name it after myself.

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

David brought everyone together, went to Rabbah, fought it, and captured it.

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.

He removed the heavy golden crown, decorated with valuable gems, from the king's head and placed it on David's head. Then, he took a lot of treasures from the city.

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.

He took the people living in those places and made them go through painful tools like saws, iron harrows, and axes. He also made them pass through a brick-making oven. He did this to all the cities where Ammon's children lived. After that, David and his people went back to Jerusalem.