Nathan's Message and David's Repentance

¹The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor.

²The rich man had many cattle and sheep,

³while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him.

⁴One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal for his guest.”

⁵David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die!

⁶For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”

⁷“You are that man,” Nathan said to David. “And this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.

⁸I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much.

⁹Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife!

¹⁰Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife.

¹¹I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight.

¹²You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’”

¹³“I have sinned against the Lord,” David said. Nathan replied, “The Lord forgives you; you will not die.

¹⁴But because you have shown such contempt for the Lord in doing this, your child will die.”

David's Son Dies

¹⁵Then Nathan went home. The Lord caused the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David to become very sick.

¹⁶David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor.

¹⁷His court officials went to him and tried to make him get up, but he refused and would not eat anything with them.

¹⁸A week later the child died, and David's officials were afraid to tell him the news. They said, “While the child was living, David wouldn't answer us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!”

¹⁹When David noticed them whispering to each other, he realized that the child had died. So he asked them, “Is the child dead?” “Yes, he is,” they answered.

²⁰David got up from the floor, took a bath, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. Then he went and worshiped in the house of the Lord. When he returned to the palace, he asked for food and ate it as soon as it was served.

²¹“We don't understand this,” his officials said to him. “While the child was alive, you wept for him and would not eat; but as soon as he died, you got up and ate!”

²²“Yes,” David answered, “I did fast and weep while he was still alive. I thought that the Lord might be merciful to me and not let the child die.

²³But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Could I bring the child back to life? I will some day go to where he is, but he can never come back to me.”

Solomon Is Born

²⁴Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He had intercourse with her, and she bore a son, whom David named Solomon. The Lord loved the boy

²⁵and commanded the prophet Nathan to name the boy Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him.

David Captures Rabbah

²⁶Meanwhile Joab continued his campaign against Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, and was about to capture it.

²⁷He sent messengers to David to report: “I have attacked Rabbah and have captured its water supply.

²⁸Now gather the rest of your forces, attack the city and take it yourself. I don't want to get the credit for capturing it.”

²⁹So David gathered his forces, went to Rabbah, attacked it, and conquered it.

³⁰From the head of the idol of the Ammonite god Molech David took a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds and had a jewel in it. David took the jewel and put it in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city

³¹and put its people to work with saws, iron hoes, and iron axes, and forced them to work at making bricks. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.

¹They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God.

²After David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord

³and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins.

⁴David appointed some of the Levites to lead the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, in front of the Covenant Box, by singing and praising him.

⁵Asaph was appointed leader, with Zechariah as his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

⁶and two priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to blow trumpets regularly in front of the Covenant Box.

⁷It was then that David first gave Asaph and the other Levites the responsibility for singing praises to the Lord.

A Song of Praise

⁸Give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.

⁹Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

¹⁰Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice!

¹¹Go to the Lord for help, and worship him continually.

^12-13You descendants of Jacob, God's servant, descendants of Israel, whom God chose, remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.

¹⁴The Lord is our God; his commands are for all the world.

¹⁵Never forget God's covenant, which he made to last forever,

¹⁶the covenant he made with Abraham, the promise he made to Isaac.

¹⁷The Lord made a covenant with Jacob, one that will last forever.

¹⁸“I will give you the land of Canaan,” he said. “It will be your own possession.”

¹⁹God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.

²⁰They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.

²¹But God let no one oppress them; to protect them, he warned the kings:

²²“Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets.”

²³Sing to the Lord, all the world! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.

²⁴Proclaim his glory to the nations, his mighty deeds to all peoples.

²⁵The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; he is to be honored more than all the gods.

²⁶The gods of all other nations are only idols, but the Lord created the heavens.

²⁷Glory and majesty surround him, power and joy fill his Temple.

²⁸Praise the Lord, all people on earth, praise his glory and might.

²⁹Praise the Lord's glorious name; bring an offering and come into his Temple. Bow down before the Holy One when he appears;

³⁰tremble before him, all the earth! The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved.

³¹Be glad, earth and sky! Tell the nations that the Lord is king.

³²Roar, sea, and every creature in you; be glad, fields, and everything in you!

³³The trees in the woods will shout for joy when the Lord comes to rule the earth.

³⁴Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.

³⁵Say to him, “Save us, O God our Savior; gather us together; rescue us from the nations, so that we may be thankful and praise your holy name.”

³⁶Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

³⁷King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day.

³⁸Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

³⁹Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon.

⁴⁰Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel.

⁴¹There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love.

⁴²Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

⁴³Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

A Prayer for Forgiveness

¹Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love. Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins!

²Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin!

³I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins.

⁴I have sinned against you—only against you— and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.

⁵I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.

⁶Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom.

⁷Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; and though you have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again.

⁹Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil.

¹⁰Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.

¹²Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

¹³Then I will teach sinners your commands, and they will turn back to you.

¹⁴Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.

¹⁵Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise you.

¹⁶You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings.

¹⁷My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.

¹⁸O God, be kind to Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices and with our burnt offerings; and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.