Then our Lord sent Nathan the prophet unto David, which, when he came, said to him:  There were two men dwelling in a city, that one rich and that other poor.  The rich man had sheep and oxen right many, but the poor man had but one little sheep, which he bought and nourished and grew with his children, eating of his bread and drinking of his cup, and slept in his bosom.  She was to him as a daughter.  And on a time when a certain pilgrim came to the rich man, he, sparing his own sheep and oxen to make a feast to the pilgrim that was come to him, took the only sheep of the poor man and made meat thereof to his guest.  David was wroth and said to Nathan:  By the living God, the man that hath so done is the child of death, the man that hath so done shall yield therefor four times double.  Then said Nathan to David:  Thou art the same man that hath done this thing.  This said the Lord God of Israel:  I have anointed thee king upon Israel, and kept thee from the hand of Saul, and I have given to thee an house to keep in thine household and wives in thy bosom.  I have given to thee the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and if these be small things I shall add and give to thee much more and greater.  Why hast thou therefore despised the word of God and hast done evil in the sight of our Lord?  Thou hast slain Uriah with a sword, and his wife hast thou taken unto thy wife, and thou hast slain him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.  Therefore the sword shall not go from thy house, world without end, forasmuch as thou hast despised me and hast taken Uriah’s wife unto thy wife.  This said our Lord:  I shall raise evil against thee, and shall take thy wives in thy sight and give them to thy neighbor.  Thou hast done it privily, but I shall make this to be done and open in the sight of all Israel.  And then said David to Nathan:  Peccavi!  I have sinned against our Lord.  Nathan said:  Our Lord hath taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die, but forasmuch as thou hast made the enemy to blaspheme the name of God, therefore the son that is born to thee shall die by death.  And Nathan returned to his house.  And for this sin David made this psalm:  Miserere mei deus [Have pity on me, O God!], which is a psalm of mercy, for David did great penance for these sins of adultery and also of homicide.

Therefore God took away this sin, and forgave it him, but the son that she brought forth died.  And after this Bathsheba, that had been Uriah’s wife, brought forth another son named Solomon, which was well-beloved of God, and after David, Solomon was king.

After this David had much war and trouble and anger, insomuch that on a time Amnon, oldest son of David, loved Thamar his sister.  David knew hereof, and was right sorry for it, but he would not rebuke his son Amnon for it, for he loved him because he was his first begotten son.  Absalom hated Amnon ever after, and when Absalom on a time did do shear his sheep he prayed all his brethren to come eat with him,