12:1 耶和華差遣拿單去見大衛。拿單到了大衛那裡，對他說：「在一座城裡有兩個人：一個是富戶，一個是窮人。
12:2 富戶有許多牛群羊群；
12:3 窮人除了所買來養活的一隻小母羊羔之外，別無所有。羊羔在他家裡和他兒女一同長大，吃他所吃的，喝他所喝的，睡在他懷中，在他看來如同女兒一樣。
12:4 有一客人來到這富戶家裡；富戶捨不得從自己的牛群羊群中取一隻預備給客人吃，卻取了那窮人的羊羔，預備給客人吃。」
12:5 大衛就甚惱怒那人，對拿單說：「我指著永生的耶和華起誓，行這事的人該死！
12:6 他必償還羊羔四倍；因為他行這事，沒有憐恤的心。」
12:7 拿單對大衛說：「你就是那人！耶和華─以色列的上帝如此說：『我膏你作以色列的王，救你脫離掃羅的手。
12:8 我將你主人的家業賜給你，將你主人的妻交在你懷裡，又將以色列和猶大家賜給你；你若還以為不足，我早就加倍地賜給你。
12:9 你為甚麼藐視耶和華的命令，行他眼中看為惡的事呢？你借亞捫人的刀殺害赫人烏利亞，又娶了他的妻為妻。
12:10 你既藐視我，娶了赫人烏利亞的妻為妻，所以刀劍必永不離開你的家。』
12:11 耶和華如此說：『我必從你家中興起禍患攻擊你；我必在你眼前把你的妃嬪賜給別人，他在日光之下就與她們同寢。
12:12 你在暗中行這事，我卻要在以色列眾人面前，日光之下，報應你。』」
12:13 大衛對拿單說：「我得罪耶和華了！」拿單說：「耶和華已經除掉你的罪，你必不至於死。
12:14 只是你行這事，叫耶和華的仇敵大得褻瀆的機會，故此，你所得的孩子必定要死。」
12:15 拿單就回家去了。耶和華擊打烏利亞妻給大衛所生的孩子，使他得重病。
12:16 所以大衛為這孩子懇求上帝，而且禁食，進入內室，終夜躺在地上。
12:17 他家中的老臣來到他旁邊，要把他從地上扶起來，他卻不肯起來，也不同他們吃飯。
12:18 到第七日，孩子死了。大衛的臣僕不敢告訴他孩子死了，因他們說：「孩子還活著的時候，我們勸他，他尚且不肯聽我們的話，若告訴他孩子死了，豈不更加憂傷嗎？」
12:19 大衛見臣僕彼此低聲說話，就知道孩子死了，問臣僕說：「孩子死了嗎？」他們說：「死了。」
12:20 大衛就從地上起來，沐浴，抹膏，換了衣裳，進耶和華的殿敬拜；然後回宮，吩咐人擺飯，他便吃了。
12:21 臣僕問他說：「你所行的是甚麼意思？孩子活著的時候，你禁食哭泣；孩子死了，你倒起來吃飯。」
12:22 大衛說：「孩子還活著，我禁食哭泣；因為我想，或者耶和華憐恤我，使孩子不死也未可知。
12:23 孩子死了，我何必禁食，我豈能使他返回呢？我必往他那裡去，他卻不能回我這裡來。」
12:24 大衛安慰他的妻拔示巴，與她同寢，她就生了兒子，給他起名叫所羅門。耶和華也喜愛他，
12:25 就藉先知拿單賜他一個名字，叫耶底底亞，因為耶和華愛他。
12:26 約押攻取亞捫人的京城拉巴。
12:27 約押打發使者去見大衛，說：「我攻打拉巴，取其水城。
12:28 現在你要聚集其餘的軍兵來，安營圍攻這城，恐怕我取了這城，人就以我的名叫這城。」
12:29 於是大衛聚集眾軍，往拉巴去攻城，就取了這城，
12:30 奪了亞捫人之王所戴的金冠冕（王：或譯瑪勒堪；瑪勒堪就是米勒公，又名摩洛，亞捫族之神名），其上的金子重一他連得，又嵌著寶石。人將這冠冕戴在大衛頭上。大衛從城裡奪了許多財物，
12:31 將城裡的人拉出來，放在鋸下，或鐵耙下，或鐵斧下，或叫他經過磚窯（或譯：強他們用鋸，或用打糧食的鐵器，或用鐵斧做工，或使在磚窯裡服役）；大衛待亞捫各城的居民都是如此。其後，大衛和眾軍都回耶路撒冷去了。
The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.[c]
26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”
29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 David took the crown from their king’s[d] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent[e] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[f] David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
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大衛犯罪的事，上帝是看在眼裡，甚至經過了一段時間，上帝仍然差派先知拿單向大衛宣告上帝的心意。拿單在上帝的引導下，用一個不公不義的比喻故事，讓大衛清楚自己也事做了不公不義的事情，就是殺害赫人烏利亞並娶她的太太拔示巴為妻，大大惹怒耶和華上帝！
上帝透過拿單警告大衛：「你既藐視我，娶了赫人烏利亞的妻為妻，所以刀劍必永不離開你的家。我必從你家中興起禍患攻擊你；我必在你眼前把你的妃嬪賜給別人，他在日光之下就與她們同寢。你在暗中行這事，我卻要在以色列眾人面前，日光之下，報應你。」
當然這些事後來都發生了！然而那是未來式，上帝仍然有進行式的作為，就是耶和華擊打烏利亞妻給大衛所生的孩子，使他得重病。雖然經過禁食禱告，哀求上帝，最後還是保不住這個小孩！
然而大衛並不為這件事情沮喪，因為他清楚這一切都是上帝的作為，他也清楚自己認罪之後，上帝必定要赦免他的罪惡！後來他又和拔示巴同房，生了一個兒子所羅門，因為他感受到上帝重新與他和好，讓他有平安！
大衛的經歷讓我們想到約翰一書1章9節：「我們若認自己的罪，上帝是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。」
這也告訴我們，我們免不了會犯罪，得罪上帝，但是上帝要我們認罪，並且要用耶穌基督的寶血洗淨我們的罪，使我們可以被上帝稱義，仍然與祂和好，也就是享受平安。因為祂透過耶穌基督在十字架上的犧牲而不紀念我們的罪惡，接那我們為兒女！
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