1 WYC Therfor the Lord sente Nathan to Dauid; and whanne he hadde come to Dauid, he seide to Dauid, Answere thou doom to me; twei men weren in o citee; o man was riche, and the tother was pore. BSB BSB: Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
2 WYC The riche man hadde ful many scheep, and oxun; BSB BSB: The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,
3 WYC sotheli the pore man hadde vttirli no thing, outakun o litil scheep, which he hadde bouyt, and nurschid, and which `hadde wexid at hym with hise sones, and eet togidere of his breed, and drank of his cuppe, and slepte in his bosum; and it was as a douyter to hym. BSB BSB: but 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.
4 WYC Forsothe whanne a pilgrym `hadde come to the riche man, he sparide to take of hise scheep and oxun, that he schulde make a feeste to that pilgrym, that cam to hym; and he took the scheep of the pore man, and `made redi metis to the man that cam to hym. BSB BSB: Now 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.”
5 WYC Forsothe Dauid was ful wrooth with indignacioun ayens that man, and seide to Nathan, The Lord lyueth, for the man that dide this is the sone of deeth; BSB BSB: David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 WYC he schal yelde the scheep in to foure folde, for he dide this word, and sparide not. BSB BSB: Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
7 WYC Forsothe Nathan seide to Dauid, Thou art thilke man, that hast do this thing. The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y anoyntide thee `in to kyng on Israel, and Y delyuerede thee fro the hond of Saul, BSB BSB: Then Nathan said to David, “You are that 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 WYC and Y yaf to thee the hows of thi lord, and the wyues of thi lord in thi bosum, and Y yaf to thee the hows of Israel, and of Juda; and if these thingis ben litil, Y schal adde to thee myche grettere thingis. BSB BSB: I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
9 WYC Whi therfor hast thou dispisid the word of the Lord, that thou didist yuels in my siyt? Thou hast smyte by swerd Vrye Ethei, and thou hast take his wijf in to wijf to thee, and thou hast slayn hym with the swerd of the sones of Amon. BSB BSB: Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 WYC Wherfor swerd schal not go awey fro thin hows til in to with outen ende; for thou dispysidist me, and tokist the wijf of Vrye Ethei, that sche schulde be thi wijf. BSB BSB: Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 WYC Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise on thee yuel of thin hows, and Y schal take thi wyues in `thin iyen, and Y schal yyue to thi neiybore, and he schal slepe with thi wyues in the iyen of this sunne, `that is, opynli bifor alle men, as in xv. chapitre. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD 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.
12 WYC For thou hast do priueli; forsothe Y schal do this word in the siyt of al Israel, and in the siyt of this sunne. BSB BSB: You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 WYC And Dauid seide to Nathan, Y haue synned to the Lord. And Nathan seide to Dauid, Also the Lord hath turned awei thi synne; thou schalt not die. BSB BSB: Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
14 WYC Netheles for thou madist enemyes to blasfeme the name of the Lord, for this word the child which is borun to thee schal die bi deeth. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
15 WYC And Nathan turnede ayen in to his hows. And the Lord smoot the litil child, whom the wijf of Vrye childide to Dauid, and he dispeiride. BSB BSB: After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
16 WYC And Dauid preiede the Lord for the litil child; and Dauid fastide bi fastyng, and entride asidis half, and lai on the erthe. BSB BSB: David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17 WYC Sotheli the eldere men of his hows camen, and constreyneden hym `bi meke preieris, that he schulde rise fro the erthe; and he nolde, nethir he eet mete with hem. BSB BSB: The 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.
18 WYC Forsothe it bifelde in the seuenthe dai, that the yong child diede; and the seruauntis of Dauid dredde to telle to hym, that the litil child was deed; for thei seiden, Lo! whanne the litil child lyuede yit, we spaken to hym, and he herde not oure vois; hou myche more, if we seien the child is deed, he schal turment himsilf? BSB BSB: On the seventh day the child died. But David’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.”
19 WYC Therfore whanne Dauid hadde herd his seruauntis spekynge priueli, `ether moterynge, he understood that the yong child was deed; `and he seyde to his seruauntis, Whether the child is deed? Whiche answeriden to hym, He is deed. BSB BSB: When David 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.
20 WYC Therfor Dauid roos fro the erthe, and was waischid, and anoyntid; and whanne he hadde chaungid cloth, he entride in to the hows of the Lord, and worschipide, and cam in to his hows; and he axide, that thei schulden sette breed to hym, and he eet. BSB BSB: Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.
21 WYC Sothely his seruauntis seiden to hym, What is the word which thou hast do? Thou fastidist, and weptist for the yong child, whanne he lyuede yit; sotheli whanne the child was deed, thou risidist and etist breed? BSB BSB: “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.”
22 WYC And Dauid seide, Y fastide and wepte for the yong child, whanne he lyuyde yit; for Y seide, Who woot, if perauenture the Lord yyue hym to me, and the yong child lyue? BSB BSB: David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’
23 WYC `Now forsothe for he is deed, whi `fast Y? whether Y schal mow ayen clepe hym more? Y schal `go more to hym, but he schal not turne ayen to me. BSB BSB: But 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.”
24 WYC And Dauid coumfortid Bersabee, his wijf; and he entride to hir, and slepte with hir. And sche gendride a sone, and Dauid clepide his name Salomon; and the Lord louyde hym. BSB BSB: Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
25 WYC And he sente Salomon in the hond of Nathan, the prophete; and he clepide his name Amyable to the Lord, for the Lord louyde hym. BSB BSB: and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.
26 WYC Therfor Joab fauyt ayens Rabath, of the sones of Amon, and he fauyt ayens the `kyngis citee. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
27 WYC And Joab sente messangeris to Dauid, and seide, Y fauyte ayens Rabath, and the citee of watris schal be takun. BSB BSB: Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.
28 WYC Now therfor gadere thou the tother part of the puple, and bisege thou the citee, and take thou it, lest whanne the citee is wastid of me, the victorie be arettid to my name. BSB BSB: Now, 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.”
29 WYC Therfor Dauid gaderide al the puple, and he yede forth ayens Rabath; and whanne he hadde fouyte, he took it. BSB BSB: So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it.
30 WYC And he took the diademe of the kyng of hem fro his heed, bi weiyte a talent of gold, hauynge preciouseste peerlis; and it was put on the heed of Dauid, `that is, aftir that it was weldid and purgid bi fier; but also Dauid bar awey ful myche prey of the citee. BSB BSB: Then 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 David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.
31 WYC Also he ledde forth the puple therof, and sawide, and `dide aboute hem `yrun instrumentis of turment, and departide with knyues, and `ledde ouer bi the licnesse of tijl stoonus; so he dide to alle the citees of the sones of Amon. And Dauid turnede ayen, and al his oost, in to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: David 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 Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.