Dama la Nathani ne kushanduka kwa Dafite
1 Yahwe bakatuma Nathani kuna Dafite. Wakati eswika kunli kandwa kati, “Kwakatongobe ne balume babili mu mmwe nzi, mmwe akafuma mmwe ali nshayi. 2 Nlume we nfumi wakabe ana pkhwizi ne mbudzi njinji kwazo ne ng'ombe, 3 koga nlume we nshayi wakabe asina tjaanatjo aisi pkhwizana hadzi ing'ompela yaakabe atenga. Wakailela, ikakulila munli ne bana babe. Yakabe ija naye mu ndilo ing'wa mu bhepe lile ibuya ilala mu maboko awe. Yakabe inga nkololokadzi munli. 4 Limwe zhuba nlume we nfumi kakumbiwa nge mwezi mu nzi uwe, koga nlume we nfumi katjiba kutola imwe ye pkhwizi kene mbudzi kene ng'ombe iye kuibhaya ethamila mwezi uwe zojiwa. Mu bumo gwa ikoku, wakatola pkhwizana hadzi ye nlume we nshayi kaibhaya kathamila mwezi uwe zojiwa.” 5 Ipapo Dafite kazhala bushongola kwazo ngekwe nlume iwoyo, ngono kadwa Nathani kati, “Ndolebesa ndotuna na Yahwe banotjila, nlume wakathama ikoku wakafanigwa ngofa! 6 Wakafanila lipa pkhwizana iyeyi kwakatiliyana kanna, ngobe wakathama kuthu ikoku kakale asina ngoni.” 7 Ndizo Nathani kadwa Dafite kati, “Iwoyo nlume ndiwe! Ngono Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, ‘Ndakakubiga mambo we Iziraela, abuya akugwila kukudusa mu maboko a Saulo. 8 Ndaka kupa ng'umba ya tetshi uwo, akupa bakadzi ba tetshi uwo mu maboko. Abuya akupa ng'umba dze Iziraela ne Juda. Ngono ha kuli kuti ikoku kwakabe kuli kushomanana, ndabe ndinga kupaphidzila kunjinji kakale. 9 Hwutini walengudza dama la Yahwe ngothama mbipo mbeli kwabo kene? Wakabulaya Uriya we Nhiti nge thumo ku ngwa, ubuya utola nkadzi uwe unthama uwo, wakambulaya nge thumo le Baamoni. 10 Ndizo ngwenu thumo alitjowobhuda mu ng'umba iyo, ngobe wandilengudza, ubuya utola nkadzi wa Uriya we Nhiti unthama uwo!’
11 “Yahwe bakaleba beti, ‘Ndokumusila mbatsha kudwa mukati kwe ng'umba iyo. Ndowotola bakadzi babo mbeli kuko abapa ikamu tjitjo, ngono unowowalilana ne bakadzi babo kuli masikati. 12 Iwe wakakuthama wakabgwata, koga imi ndowothama kuthu ikoku masikati mbeli kwe Baiziraela bose.’ ” 13 Kadwa Nathani kati, “Ndakatjinyila Yahwe.” Nathani kanshandula eti, “Yahwe bakuzwiibhatigwa jinyo lilo, autjowofa. 14 Nekwakajalo, ngobe wakalengudza Yahwe kwazo ngothama ikoku, iwoyo mwana uwo unowozwagwa unowofa.” 15 Shule kwaikoku Nathani ebe eyenda ku nzi uwe.
Nkololo wa Dafite unofa
Yahwe bakaloba mwana wa Dafite waakazwala ne nkadzi wa Uriya kagwala kwazo. 16 Dafite kathigamila Yahwe ekumbilila mwana iwoyu, wakazwinyima zojiwa kangina mu ng'umba iye, kalala akatizwambata pasi busiku gose. 17 Sholotjena dze ng'umba iye dzikamilika dzikayenda kunli kummusa, koga kalamba muka ne zojiwa akasitongozwija nadzo. 18 Mu zhuba le kutendeka mwana kafa. Ngono balanda ba Dafite bakatja kumbudza kuti mwana wafa, ngobe bezwidwa beti, “Kwakati mwana atjatjila, takalebeleka na Dafite, koga kasitongo titeedza, ngono ngwenu towombudza tjini kuti mwana wafa kene? Pamwe ungadwa ezwithama tjimwe tjakabipa!”
19 Kukati Dafite ebona kuti balanda babe banonyebezelana, kaziba ha mwana afa. Ngono kababhuzwa kati, “Mwana wafa kene?” Bakadabila beti, “Ee, wafa.”
20 Ipapo Dafite kamuka pasi, kangula mbili, kazhola mafuta, kaambala zwiambalo zwipoga. Kangina mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe katembezela. Kudwa ipapo kayenda ku ng'umba ye bushe, kakumbila zojiwa bakampa kaja. 21 Sholotjena dzidze dzikambhuzwa dzikati, “Hwutini muthama muijali? Kwakati mwana atjatjila mukazwinyima zojiwa mukanlilila, ngono ngwenu mwana wafa, mamuka mukaja zojiwa.” 22 Dafite kashandula eti, “Kwakati mwana atjatjila, azwinyima zojiwa abuya alila, ngobe ndakazwidwa nditi, ‘Ndiani unoziba? Pamwe Yahwe bangandihwila ngoni, mwana kapola.’ 23 Koga ngwenu mwana wafa, ndowobe nditjazwinyimilani zojiwa? Apa ndinga mmusa kene? Imi ndimi ndinowontobela, koga iye aatjowoshandukila kundili.”
Solomoni Unozwagwa
24 Ndizo Dafite kanyaladza nkadzi uwe Bhatisheba, kankumba kawalilana naye, kawana mwana we tjilisana kantumila zina eti Solomoni. Yahwe bakada mbisana, 25 ngono Yahwe bakatuma nlebesambeli Nathani kantumila zina eti Jedidiya.
Dafite unotapa Rabha
(1 Zwiyitikalo 20:1-3)26 Ipapo Joabu kagwa ne Rabha nzi nkulu we Baamoni, ngono bakautapa. 27 Joabu katuma batumwa kunobikila Dafite beti, “Ndakagwa ne Rabha atapa tshima le nzi nkulu una vula njinji. 28 Ngono ngwenu tjikubunganya babhayani bose bakasala, unginilile nzi uwutole, ndisidwe ndiutola imi, ube udwa udang'wa nge zina langu.” 29 Ndizo Dafite kakubunganya babhayani bose bakayenda ku Rabha, kainginilila kaikulila kaitola. 30 Katola tjiala mu nsholo wa mambo wabo tjebulemo gwe talenta ye golide, tjakabe tjakanakisiwa nge mabgwe akanaka, ngono tjikaambadziwa Dafite mu nsholo. Wakatolelanya ne zwakatapiwa mu nzi zwisizwishoma. 31 Kadusila bathu bakabe bali mu nzi iwoyo kuzhe, kabalonga mu kushinga nge dzisaha ne dzipiki ne mashathu, ebuya ebathama kuti bashinge kunothamwa zwitina. Kathama eijalo mu mizi yose ye Baamoni. Ndizo Dafite ne babhayani babe bose bakabgwilila ku Jerusalema.
1 and he sent Nathan the prophet to tell this story to David:
A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. 2 The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children.
4 One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn't want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man's lamb and served it instead.
5 David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this deserves to die! 6 And because he didn't have pity on the poor man, he will have to pay four times what the lamb was worth.”
7 Then Nathan told David:
You are that rich man! Now listen to what the Lord God of Israel says to you: “I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul 8 and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more. 9 Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by letting the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife.
10 “Because you wouldn't obey me and took Uriah's wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace. 11 Someone from your own family will cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on. 12 What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see.”
13-14 David said, “I have disobeyed the Lord.”
“Yes, you have!” Nathan answered. “You showed you didn't care what the Lord wanted. He has forgiven you, and you won't die. But your newborn son will.” 15 Then Nathan went back home.
David's Young Son Dies
The Lord made David's young son very sick.
16 So David went without eating to show his sorrow, and he begged God to make the boy well. David would not sleep on his bed, but spent each night lying on the floor. 17 His officials stood beside him and tried to talk him into getting up. But he would not get up or eat with them.
18 After the child had been sick for seven days, he died, but the officials were afraid to tell David. They said to each other, “Even when the boy was alive, David wouldn't listen to us. How can we tell him his son is dead? He might do something terrible!”
19 David noticed his servants whispering, and he knew the boy was dead. “Did my son die?” he asked his servants.
“Yes, he did,” they answered.
20 David got up off the floor; he took a bath, combed his hair, and dressed. He went into the Lord's tent and worshiped, then he went back home. David asked for something to eat, and when his servants brought him some food, he ate it.
21 His officials said, “What are you doing? You went without eating and cried for your son while he was alive! But now that he's dead, you're up and eating.”
22 David answered:
While he was still alive, I went without food and cried because there was still hope. I said to myself, “Who knows? Maybe the Lord will have pity on me and let the child live.” 23 But now that he's dead, why should I go without eating? I can't bring him back! Someday I will join him in death, but he can't return to me.
Solomon Is Born
24 David comforted his wife Bathsheba and slept with her. Later on, she gave birth to another son and named him Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon 25 and sent Nathan the prophet to tell David, “The Lord will call him Jedidiah.”
The End of the War with Ammon
(1 Chronicles 20.1b-3)26 Meanwhile, Joab had been in the country of Ammon, attacking the city of Rabbah. He captured the royal fortress 27 and sent a messenger to tell David:
I have attacked Rabbah and captured the fortress guarding the city water supply. 28 Call the rest of the army together. Then surround the city, and capture it yourself. If you don't, everyone will remember that I captured the city.
29 David called the rest of the army together and attacked Rabbah. He captured the city 30 and took the crown from the statue of their god Milcom. The crown was made of about 35 kilograms of gold, and there was a valuable jewel on it. David put the jewel on his own crown. He also carried off everything else of value. 31 David made the people of Rabbah tear down the city walls with iron picks and axes, and then he put them to work making bricks. He did the same thing with all the other Ammonite cities.
David went back to Jerusalem, and the people of Israel returned to their homes.