2 Samuel 12
Open in the reader1Then He-Who-Is sent He-Has-Given to Beloved, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
2The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,
3but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.
4Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
5Beloved burned with anger against the man and said to He-Has-Given: “As surely as He-Who-Is lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
7Then He-Has-Given said to Beloved, “You are that man! This is what He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, says: ‘I anointed you king over Strives-with-God, and I delivered you from the hand of Asked-For.
8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Strives-with-God and Praised, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
9Why then have you despised the command of He-Who-Is by doing evil in His sight? You put My-Light-Is-He-Who-Is the Son-of-Terror to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the children of Kindred.
10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of My-Light-Is-He-Who-Is the Son-of-Terror to be your own.’
11This is what He-Who-Is says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
12You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Strives-with-God.’”
13Then Beloved said to He-Has-Given, “I have sinned against He-Who-Is.” “He-Who-Is has taken away your sin,” He-Has-Given replied. “You will not die.
14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of He-Who-Is, the son born to you will surely die.”
15After He-Has-Given had gone home, He-Who-Is struck the child that My-Light-Is-He-Who-Is’s wife had borne to Beloved, and he became ill.
16Beloved pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18On the seventh day the child died. But Beloved’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”
19When Beloved saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied.
20Then Beloved got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of He-Who-Is and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.
21“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”
22Beloved answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? He-Who-Is may be gracious to me and let him live.’
23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24Then Beloved comforted his wife Daughter-of-Oath, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Peace. Now He-Who-Is loved the child
25and sent word through He-Has-Given the prophet to name him Beloved-of-He-Who-Is because He-Who-Is loved him.
26Meanwhile, He-Who-Is-Father fought against Great of the children of Kindred and captured the royal fortress.
27Then He-Who-Is-Father sent messengers to Beloved to say, “I have fought against Great and have captured the water supply of the city.
28Now, therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”
29So Beloved assembled all the troops and went to Great; and he fought against it and captured it.
30Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on Beloved’s head. And Beloved took a great amount of plunder from the city.
31Beloved brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the child of Kindred cities. Then Beloved and all his troops returned to Foundation-of-Peace.