Nathan Rebukes David
1 And the Lord sent xNathan to David. He came to him and said to him, y“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,1 and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, z“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb afourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, b‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 cWhy have you despised the word of the Lord, dto do what is evil in his sight? eYou have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and fhave taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now 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.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of 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. 12 For you did it secretly, gbut I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 hDavid said to Nathan, i“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, j“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly kscorned the Lord,2 the child who is born to you shall die.”
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when vNathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
according to your steadfast love;
according to your xabundant mercy
yblot out my transgressions.
2 zWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and acleanse me from my sin!
3 bFor I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 cAgainst you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil din your sight,
eso that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, fI was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in gthe inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me hwith hyssop, and I shall be clean;
zwash me, and I shall be iwhiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
jlet the bones kthat you have broken rejoice.
9 lHide your face from my sins,
and yblot out all my iniquities.
10 mCreate in me a nclean heart, O God,
and orenew a right2 spirit within me.
11 pCast me not away from your presence,
and take not qyour Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will rreturn to you.
14 Deliver me from sbloodguiltiness, O God,
O tGod of my salvation,
and umy tongue will sing aloud of your vrighteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 wFor you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are xa broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 yDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;
zbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in aright sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and bwhole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil1 of David.
1 jBlessed is the one whose ktransgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord lcounts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit mthere is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my nbones wasted away
through my ogroaning all day long.
4 For day and night your phand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up2 as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I qacknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I rwill confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is sgodly
offer prayer to you at a time when you tmay be found;
surely in the rush of ugreat waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a vhiding place for me;
you preserve me from wtrouble;
you surround me with xshouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will yinstruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will zcounsel you with my eye upon you.
9 aBe not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bbit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 cMany are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who dtrusts in the Lord.
11 eBe glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
15 Then Nathan went to his house.
David’s Child Dies
And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David lfasted and went in mand lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth nand washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord oand worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing 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.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, p‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, qbut he will not return to me.”
