1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And when he had come to him, he said to him: “Two men were in one city: one wealthy, and the other poor.
2 The wealthy man had very many sheep and oxen.
3 But the poor man had nothing at all, except one little sheep, which he had bought and nourished. And she had grown up before him, together with his children, eating from his bread, and drinking from his cup, and sleeping in his bosom. And she was like a daughter to him.
4 But when a certain traveler had come to the wealthy man, neglecting to take from his own sheep and oxen, so that he might present a feast for that traveler, who had come to him, he took the sheep of the poor man, and he prepared a meal for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s indignation was enraged exceedingly against that man, and he said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is a son of death.
6 He shall restore the sheep fourfold, because he did this word, and he did not take pity.”
7 But Nathan said to David: “You are that man. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.
8 And I gave the house of your lord to you, and the wives of your lord into your bosom. And I gave the house of Israel and of Judah to you. And as if these things were small, I shall add much greater things to you.
9 Therefore, why have you despised the word of the Lord, so that you did evil in my sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. And you have taken his wife as a wife for yourself. And you have put him to death with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 For this reason, the sword shall not withdraw from your house, even perpetually, because you have despised me, and you have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite, so that she may be your wife.’
11 And so, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up over you an evil from your own house. And I will take your wives away before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor. And he will sleep with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For you acted secretly. But I will do this word in the sight of all of Israel, and in the sight of the sun.’ “
13 And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David: “The Lord has also taken away your sin. You shall not die.
14 Yet truly, because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, because of this word, the son who was born to you: dying he shall die.”
15 And Nathan returned to his own house. And the Lord struck the little one, whom the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and he was despaired of.
16 And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.
17 Then the elders of his house came, urging him to rise up from the ground. And he was not willing, nor would he eat a meal with them.
18 Then, on the seventh day, it happened that the infant died. And the servants of David were afraid to report to him that the little one had died. For they said: “Behold, when the child was still alive, we were speaking to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How much more will he afflict himself, if we tell him that the boy is dead?”
19 But when David had seen his servants whispering, he realized that the infant had died. And he said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they responded to him, “He is dead.”
20 Therefore, David rose up from the ground. And he washed and anointed himself. And when he had changed his clothing, he entered the house of the Lord, and he worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and he asked them to place bread before him, and he ate.
21 But his servants said to him: “What is this word that you have done? You fasted and were weeping, on behalf of the infant, while he was still alive. But when the boy was dead, you arose and ate bread.”
22 And he said: “While he was yet alive, I fasted and wept on behalf of the infant. For I said: Who knows if the Lord may perhaps give him to me, and let the infant live?
23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Would I be able to bring him back anymore? Instead, I will go to him. Yet truly, he will not return to me.”
24 And David consoled his wife Bathsheba. And entering to her, he slept with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him.
25 And he sent, by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name, Beloved of the Lord, because the Lord loved him.
26 And then Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and he fought outside the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, saying: “I have struggled against Rabbah, and so the City of Waters will soon be seized.
28 Now therefore, gather the remaining portion of the people together, and besiege the city and take it. Otherwise, when the city will have been laid waste by me, the victory will be ascribed to my name.”
29 And so David gathered together all the people, and he set out against Rabbah. And after he had fought, he seized it.
30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, having the most precious gems. And it was placed upon the head of David. Moreover, he carried away the spoils of the city, which were very many.
31 Also, bringing forth its people, he sawed them, and he drove over them with iron wagons, and he divided them with knives, and he dragged them through brick kilns. So he did to all the citizens of the sons of Ammon. And David returned, with the entire army, to Jerusalem.
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1 And as for you, take up a lament over the leaders of Israel,
2 and you shall say: Why did your mother, the lioness, recline among the male lions, and raise her little ones in the midst of young lions?
3 And she led away one of her little ones, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to consume men.
4 And the Gentiles heard about him, and they seized him, but not without receiving wounds. And they led him away in chains to the land of Egypt.
5 Then, when she had seen that she was weakened, and that her hope had perished, she took one of her little ones, and appointed him as a lion.
6 And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.
7 He learned to make widows, and to lead their citizens into the desert. And the land, with its plenitude, was made desolate by the voice of his roaring.
8 And the Gentiles came together against him, on every side, from the provinces, and they spread their net over him; by their wounds, he was captured.
9 And they put him into a cage; they led him in chains to the king of Babylon. And they cast him into a prison, so that his voice would no longer be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother is like a vine, in your blood, planted by the water; her fruit and her branches have increased because of many waters.
11 And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was uprooted in wrath, and cast upon the ground. And the burning wind dried up her fruit. Her robust branches withered and were dried up. A fire consumed her.
13 And now she has been transplanted into the desert, into a land impassable and dry.
14 And a fire has gone forth from a rod of her branches, which has consumed her fruit. And there is no strong branch in her to become a scepter for the rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be a lamentation.”
1 And it happened that, in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel arrived, so that they might inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
3 Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Have you arrived in order to inquire of me? As I live, I will not answer you, says the Lord God.
4 If you judge them, if you judge, O son of man, reveal to them the abominations of their fathers.
5 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel, and I lifted up my hand on behalf of the stock of the house of Jacob, and I appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and I lifted up my hand on their behalf, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God,’
6 in that day, I lifted up my hand for their sake, so that I would lead them away from the land of Egypt, into a land which I had provided for them, flowing with milk and honey, which was singular among all lands.
7 And I said to them: ‘Let each one cast away the offenses of his eyes, and do not choose to defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’
8 But they provoked me, and they were not willing to listen to me. Each one of them did not cast away the abominations of his eyes, nor did they leave behind the idols of Egypt. And so, I said that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and fulfill my wrath against them, in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they were, and among whom I appeared to them, so that I might lead them away from the land of Egypt.
10 Therefore, I cast them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them away into the desert.
11 And I gave them my precepts, and I revealed to them my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them.
12 Moreover, I also gave to them my Sabbaths, so that these would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.
13 But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert. They did not walk in my precepts, and they cast aside my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they grievously violated my Sabbaths. Therefore, I said that I would pour out my fury upon them in the desert, and that I would consume them.
7 For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert hills:
8 For God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth up:
9 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink.
10 But I will declare for ever: I will sing to the God of Jacob.
11 And I will break all the horns of sinners: but the horns of the just shall be exalted.
1 Then on the first Sabbath, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.
2 Therefore, she ran and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
3 Therefore, Peter departed with the other disciple, and they went to the tomb.
4 Now they both ran together, but the other disciple ran more quickly, ahead of Peter, and so he arrived at the tomb first.
5 And when he bowed down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not yet enter.
6 Then Simon Peter arrived, following him, and he entered the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there,
7 and the separate cloth which had been over his head, not placed with the linen cloths, but in a separate place, wrapped up by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had arrived first at the tomb, also entered. And he saw and believed.
9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that it was necessary for him to rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again, each by himself.
11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping. Then, while she was weeping, she bowed down and gazed into the tomb.
12 And she saw two Angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been placed, one at the head, and one at the feet.
13 They say to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have placed him.”
14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?” Considering that it was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have moved him, tell me where you have placed him, and I will take him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” And turning, she said to him, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her: “Do not touch me. For I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them: ‘I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God.’ “
18 Mary Magdalene went, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and these are the things that he said to me.”
19 Then, when it was late on the same day, on the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were closed where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and he said to them: “Peace to you.”
20 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. And the disciples were gladdened when they saw the Lord.
21 Therefore, he said to them again: “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them. And he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 Those whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and those whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus arrived.
25 Therefore, the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I will see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the place of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas was with them. Jesus arrived, though the doors had been closed, and he stood in their midst and said, “Peace to you.”
27 Next, he said to Thomas: “Look at my hands, and place your finger here; and bring your hand close, and place it at my side. And do not choose to be unbelieving, but faithful.”
28 Thomas responded and said to him, “My Lord and my God.”
29 Jesus said to him: “You have seen me, Thomas, so you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus also accomplished many other signs in the sight of his disciples. These have not been written in this book.
31 But these things have been written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that, in believing, you may have life in his name.
