2 Samuel 12

1 Then the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] sent [dispatched, commissioned] Nathan [the prophet, giver of God’s message] to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were [existed, came into being] two [a pair, dual] men in a certain city [a place with a wall, a watchman], one [unique, single] rich [wealthy, noble] and the other [a different one, in contrast] poor [destitute, lacking material possessions]. word study 2 The rich [exceedingly wealthy, noble] man had a great [very numerous, exceeding many] number of sheep [flocks, herds] and cattle [oxen, livestock], word study 3 but the poor man [destitute, lacking material possessions] had nothing except one small [little, young] ewe lamb [a female sheep, often used in sacrifices] that he had bought [acquired, redeemed]. He raised it [nourished, cared for it], and it grew up [developed, matured] with him and his children [sons, descendants]. It shared [ate from, partook of] his food [morsel, bread] and drank from his cup [vessel, container]; it slept [lay down, rested] in his arms [bosom, chest] and was like [similar to, akin to] a daughter [a female child, a beloved one] to him. word study 4 Now a traveler [wayfarer, journeying man] came to the rich man [a man of wealth and noble status], who refrained [spared, had pity] from taking one of his own sheep [flock] or cattle [oxen, domesticated animals] to prepare [make, dress] for the traveler [guest, stranger] who had come to him. Instead, he took [got, seized] the poor man’s [destitute, needy] lamb [ewe-lamb, young female sheep] and prepared [made, dressed] it for his guest [visitor, the man who had come to him].” word study 5 David [exceedingly, greatly] burned with anger [incensed, furious] against the man [individual, person] and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord of life] lives [is alive, has being], the man who did this [has done this thing, committed this act] deserves to die [shall surely die, is worthy of death]! word study 6 Because he has done [committed, perpetrated] this thing [deed, action] and has shown [demonstrated, exhibited] no pity [compassion, mercy], he must pay [restore, repay] for the lamb [ewe-lamb, young female sheep] four times over [fourfold, multiplied by four].” word study 7 Then Nathan [the prophet] said to David, “You are that man [the one I have been speaking of]! This is what the LORD [Yehovah], the God [Elohim, the supreme ruler] of Israel, says: ‘I anointed [set apart, consecrated] you king [ruler, leader] over Israel, and I delivered [rescued, saved] you from the hand [power, control] of Saul. word study 8 I gave your master’s house [palace, royal dwelling] to you and your master’s wives [women, female companions] into your arms [bosom, intimate care]. I gave you the house [dynasty, kingdom] of Israel [God’s chosen people] and Judah [the tribe of praise], and if that was not enough [too little, insufficient], I would have given you even more [added to you, increased your possessions]. word study 9 Why then have you despised [treated with contempt, held in low esteem] the command [word, instruction] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] by doing evil [what is morally wrong, wicked] in His sight [presence, gaze]? You put Uriah the Hittite [a descendant of Heth] to the sword [a cutting instrument, a tool of war] and took his wife [woman, female partner] as your own [to be your wife], for you have slain [killed, murdered] him with the sword [instrument of death] of the Ammonites [the children of Ammon, a neighboring nation]. word study 10 Now, therefore [at this time, from now on], the sword [cutting instrument] will never depart [turn aside, be removed] from your house [family, dwelling place], because you have despised [held in contempt, rejected] Me and have taken [acquired, seized] the wife [woman, spouse] of Uriah the Hittite [a descendant of Heth] to be your own [to be your wife, as your possession].’ word study 11 This is what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] says: ‘I will raise up [bring forth, cause to arise] adversity [evil, moral or natural harm] against you from your own house [family, dwelling place]. Before your very eyes [in your sight, openly] I will take [get, seize] your wives [women, female companions] and give them to another [your neighbor, a close companion], and he will lie [have sexual relations, rest] with them in broad daylight [in the sight of this sun, openly]. word study 12 You have acted [in secret, discreetly] in secret, but I will do this thing [openly, in broad daylight] in broad daylight before [visibly] all Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people].’” word study 13 Then David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] said to Nathan [a prophet in the time of King David and Solomon], “I have sinned [missed the mark, gone wrong, incurred guilt] against the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God].” “The LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] has taken away [removed, forgiven] your sin [guilt, punishment for sin],” Nathan replied. “You will not [never, under no circumstances] die [experience physical or spiritual death]. word study 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed [showing utter contempt, giving great occasion to blaspheme] you have [completely, utterly] shown utter contempt [spurned, scorned] for the word [message, command] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the son [child, descendant] born to you [newly come to birth] will surely [certainly, without a doubt] die [meet their end, pass away].” word study 15 After Nathan [the prophet, God’s messenger] had gone home, the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] struck [smote, afflicted] the child [youth, young one] that Uriah’s wife [the woman, Bathsheba] had borne [given birth to, beget] to David, and he became [was made] ill [very sick, incurable]. word study 16 David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] pleaded with God [the one supreme God, Elohim] for the boy [youth, a young person from infancy to adolescence]. He fasted [to abstain from food, for spiritual reasons] and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth [a sign of mourning, repentance] on the ground [the earth, land]. word study 17 The elders [old, respected leaders] of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground [land, earth], but he was unwilling [refused, would not consent] and would not eat anything [bread, food] with them [in their company, together]. word study 18 On the seventh day the child [youth, young one] died. But David’s servants [attendants, those who served him] were afraid [feared, stood in awe] to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive [living, having life], we spoke to him, and he would not listen [hear, obey] to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead [has perished, ceased to exist]? He may even harm [do evil to, afflict] himself [his own soul, person].” word study 19 When David [the king of Israel, a man after God’s heart] saw that his servants [attendants, those who served him] were whispering [speaking softly, sharing a secret] to one another, he perceived [understood, gained insight] that the child [youth, young one] was dead [had passed away, ceased to live]. So he asked his servants [those who served him, his attendants], “Is the child [young one, infant] dead [deceased, lifeless]?” “He is dead [has passed away, is no more],” they replied. word study 20 Then David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] got up from the ground [the earth, the soil], washed [to cleanse, to purify] and anointed [to smear oil, to consecrate] himself, changed [to pass, to alter] his clothes [his apparel, his garment], and went into the house [the dwelling place, the temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and worshiped [to bow down, to show reverence]. Then he went to his own house [his dwelling place, his home], and at his request [when he required, when he asked] they set [to put, to place] food [bread, a meal] before him, and he ate [to devour, to consume]. word study 21 “What is this [what thing, why] you have done?” his servants [attendants, those who served him] asked. “While the child [youth, young one] was alive [living, having life], you fasted [abstained from food, went without eating] and wept [cried, shed tears], but when he died [passed away, ceased to live], you got up [rose, stood up] and ate [consumed food, took bread].” word study 22 David answered [replied, said in response], “While the child [youth, young one] was alive [still living, yet breathing], I fasted [abstained from food, went without eating] and wept [cried, shed tears], for I said [thought, pondered], ‘Who knows [is aware, can tell]? The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] may be gracious [show kindness, have mercy] to me and let him live [allow the child to survive, give him life].’ word study 23 But now [at this time, in this moment] that he is dead [has passed away, deceased], why [what is the reason, for what purpose] should I fast [abstain from food, deny myself]? Can [am I able, is it possible] I bring him back again [restore to life, revive]? I will go [walk, journey] to him [to be with him, in his presence], but he will not return [come back, turn back] to me [toward me, in my direction].” word study 24 Then David [consoled, gave comfort to] comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay [had intimate relations, slept] with her. So she gave birth [became the mother of] to a son, and they named him Solomon [a king of peace]. Now the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] loved [had affection for, cherished] the child word study 25 and sent word [through the prophet’s hand] through Nathan [the giver, a prophet of God] the prophet [one who speaks for God] to name him Jedidiah [beloved of God, a name given by God] because the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] loved him [with a deep, abiding love]. word study 26 Meanwhile, Joab [Jehovah is father, King David’s nephew] fought [to battle against, consume with warfare] against Rabbah [great, a city in Palestine] of the Ammonites [descendants of Lot, a Transjordan nation] and captured [to seize, take control of] the royal [king’s, related to kingship] fortress [city, a place with a wall or watchman]. word study 27 Then Joab [King David’s nephew and army general] sent messengers [representatives] to David to say, “I have fought [battled or waged war] against Rabbah [the great city, a place of significance] and have captured [seized or taken control of] the water supply [source of refreshment, the city of waters] of the city [the town or settlement]. word study 28 Now [at this time, presently], therefore, assemble [gather, collect] the rest [remainder, what is left] of the troops, lay siege [besiege, encamp against] to the city [town, settlement], and capture [seize, take] it. Otherwise [lest, beware that] I [as the commander] will capture [seize, take] the city, and it will be named [called, attributed] after me [in my honor, to my credit].” word study 29 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] assembled [gathered, collected] all [everything, the whole] the troops [people, nation] and went [to walk, to move] to Rabbah [a great city, a place of battle]; and he fought [to engage in battle, to war] against it [the city, the enemy] and captured [seized, took control of] it [the city, the stronghold]. word study 30 Then he took the crown [precious diadem] from the head of their king [ruler, monarch]. It weighed a talent [unit of weight, large quantity] of gold [valuable metal, treasure] and was set with precious [costly, highly valued] stones, and it was placed on David’s [leader, king of Israel] head. And David took a great [abundant, plentiful] amount of plunder [spoils of war, booty] from the city [town, urban center]. word study 31 David brought out the people [inhabitants, citizens] who were there and put them to work with [iron] saws [for cutting stone], iron picks [threshing-sledges, harrows], and axes [sharp cutting instruments], and he made them work [labor, toil] at the brick kilns [places where bricks are made]. He did the same [thus, in like manner] to all the Ammonite [descendants of Lot] cities [towns, settlements]. Then David and all his troops [army, people] returned [turned back, came back] to Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Judah]. word study