But the thing that David did was bad in Yahweh’s eyes.
So Yahweh sent Natan to David. He came to him and said to him, ‘There were two men in a town, one wealthy, one destitute. The wealthy man had a very large flock and herd. The destitute man didn’t have anything except one small ewe that he had acquired. He had let it live and it had grown up with him and with his children, all together. It used to eat from his bit, drink from his cup and sleep in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. A traveller came to the wealthy man, but he spared taking something from his flock or from his herd to prepare for the man on a journey who had come to him. He took the destitute man’s ewe and prepared it for the man who had come to him.’
David’s anger raged right up at the man. He said to Natan, ‘As Yahweh lives, the man who did this deserves death. He should make good fourfold for the ewe on account of the fact that he did this thing, and since he didn’t spare.’
Natan said to David, ‘You’re the man. Yahweh the God of Yisra’el has said this: “I myself anointed you as king over Yisra’el. I myself rescued you from Sha’ul’s hand. I gave you your lord’s household and your lord’s wives into your arms. I gave you the household of Yisra’el and Yehudah. If that’s little, I would have added to you as much again as these. Why did you despise Yahweh’s word by doing what is bad in my eyes? Uriyyah the Hittite you struck down with the sword and his wife you took as your wife. Him you killed, with the sword of the Ammonites. So now the sword won’t depart from your household, permanently, because of the fact that you despised me and took Uriyyah the Hittite’s wife to be a wife for you.”
Yahweh has said this: “Here, I’m going to make something bad arise for you from your household. I shall take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour. He’ll sleep with your wives before the eyes of this sun. Because you yourself acted in secret, but I myself will do this thing before all Yisra’el and before the sun.”’
David said to Natan, ‘I’ve acted wrongly against Yahweh.’
Natan said to David, ‘Yes. Because Yahweh has made your wrongdoing pass on, you will not die. Nevertheless, because you’ve totally disdained (the enemies of) Yahweh by this act, yes, the child born to you will definitely die.’ And Natan went home. Yahweh struck the child to whom Uriyyah’s wife gave birth for David, and it became ill. David sought God for the boy. David made a fast and came and stayed the night and lay on the ground. The elders in his household got up over him to make him get up from the ground but he wasn’t willing, and he didn’t eat a meal with them.
Goldingay, John; The Bible for Everyone . SPCK. Kindle Edition.
Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen
St Anselm