¹Then the Lᴏʀᴅ sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. ³But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” ⁵So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lᴏʀᴅ lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! ⁶And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” ⁷Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! ⁹Why have you despised the commandment of the Lᴏʀᴅ, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ¹⁰Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹²For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ” ¹³So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lᴏʀᴅ.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lᴏʀᴅ also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lᴏʀᴅ to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” ¹⁵Then Nathan departed to his house.And the Lᴏʀᴅ struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. ¹⁶David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. ¹⁸Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” ¹⁹When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. ²¹Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²²And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lᴏʀᴅ will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ ²³But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” ²⁴Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lᴏʀᴅ loved him, ²⁵and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁶Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. ²⁷And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. ²⁸Now 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.” ²⁹So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. ³⁰Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. ³¹And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

¹For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ⁶So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. ⁹Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ¹¹Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. ¹²For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. ¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. ¹⁶Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

¹“Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ²and say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs. ³She brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men. ⁴The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt. ⁵‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion. ⁶He roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men. ⁷He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring. ⁸Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit. ⁹They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁰‘Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters. ¹¹She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage. ¹²But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them. ¹³And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land. ¹⁴Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch—a scepter for ruling.’ “ This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. ²Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, ³Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, ⁴That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. ⁵They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?” ⁶They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. ⁷But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. ⁸So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away. ⁹All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. ¹⁰The righteous shall be glad in the Lᴏʀᴅ, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed. ²O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. ³Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them. ⁴Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. ⁵By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; ⁶Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power; ⁷You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. ⁸They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. ⁹You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. ¹⁰You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. ¹¹You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. ¹²They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. ¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.