: to him. And David's anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death. He shall restore the ewe four-fold; because he did this thing, and had no pity. And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel I anointed thee king over Israel and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul; and gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and Juda: and if these things be little, I shall add far greater things unto thee. Why, therefore, hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do evil in My sight? Thou hast killed Urias the Hethite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be thy wife. And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David The Lord hath also taken away thy sin thou shalt not die. Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme for this thing, the child that is born to thee shall surely die. And Nathan returned to his house. The Lord also struck the child which the wife of Urias had borne to David and his life was despaired of. And David besought the Lord for the child: and David kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the ground. And the ancients of his house came, to make him rise from the ground; but he would not: neither did he eat meat with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died: and the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead. For they said: Behold, when the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he Iwould not hearken to our voice: how much more will he afflict himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw his servants whispering, he understood that the child was dead; and he said to his servants: Is the child dead? They answered him: He is : : dead. Then David arose from the ground, and washed, and anointed himself: and when he had changed his apparel, he went into the house of the Lord, and worshipped and then he came into his own house, and he called for bread, and ate. And his servants said to him: What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise up, and eat bread. And he said: While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept for him: for I said: Who knoweth whether the Lord may not give him to me, and the child may live? But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Shall I be able to bring him back any more? I shall go to him rather; but he shall not return to me. After this, another son was born to David and Bethsabee, named Solomon, and the child found favour in the sight of God. David also marched himself against the Ammonites, took Rabba, and ended the war. CHAP. IX. The Rebellion and Death of Absalom. TERRIBLE calamities now fell upon David in the very bosom of his family, and from the time of his sin against Urias he never more knew perfect peace. One of his sons, Amnon, committed violence upon his halfsister Thamar; and when the tidings of the dreadful crime reached Thamar's brother Absalom, a son much beloved by his father David, filled with fury, Absalom treacherously slew his half-brother Amnon, instead of leaving the punishment of the sin to the proper authorities, and fled away. For a time the king was utterly overcome by this frightful calamity in his family; and while he would not suffer Absalom to return under pain of death, he himself was so completely overwhelmed that he could not attend to his common duties as a sovereign. At last, by a device of Joab, he was brought to pardon Absalom, and suffered him to come to his house, only forbidding him to appear in his father's presence. David's clemency, however, only stirred up the pas sions of his headstrong son; and Absalom proceeded to lay a plan for dethroning his father, and seizing the crown for himself. By feigning a great love for justice, and spreading evil reports against his father, he succeeded in forming so powerful a party in his favour, as to force David to flee as an exile from Jerusalem. Gaining thus possession of his father's house and of his wives, he committed every sort of wickedness. But his triumph was short-lived; for David, with the help of Joab, gathered together a large body of the people, and defeated the adherents of his rebellious son. Absalom himself was caught by his head in the branches of a tree, as he rode from the field of battle; and his horse galloping from under him, left him hanging in the air. Tidings of his situation were brought to Joab, and he, regardless of David's strict command that the life of Absalom should be spared, himself smote the young man to the heart, and he died there, hanging to the branches. But David mourned for the death of his beloved child, notwithstanding all his crimes, until the whole people were grieved at his selfish sorrow. Joab then vehemently remonstrated with him, and he resumed his former energies. He partly pardoned one man, Semei, who, at the time of his exile, had heaped curses upon him, promising to spare his life during his own lifetime. He rewarded Berzellai, a man of Gilead, who had provided him and his soldiers with provisions in their need; and he excused Miphiboseth for his apparent neglect when the king was driven from his house by his rebellious child. CHAP. X. David's sin in Numbering the People. AFTER this time God sent to Israel one of those visitations by which, in His mysterious justice, He frequently punishes the children for the sins of their fathers, and afflicts a whole nation for the transgressions of some few among them. For three successive years there was a famine in the land; and when David consulted the will L |