So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story:“ There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor.

耶和华差遣拿单去见大卫。拿单到了大卫那里，对他说：“在一座城里有两个人：一个是富户，一个是穷人。

耶和华差遣拿单到大卫那里。拿单到了他那里，对他说：“在一座城里有两个人，一个是富翁，一个是穷人。

耶和华差遣拿单到大卫那里。拿单到了他那里，对他说：“在一座城里有两个人，一个是富翁，一个是穷人。

耶和华派拿单先知去见大卫。拿单对大卫说：“一座城里有两个人，一个富有，一个贫穷。

耶和华差派拿单去见大卫。于是拿单来到大卫那里，对他说：“在一座城里有两个人，一个富有，一个贫穷。

耶和華差遣拿單去見大衛。拿單到了大衛那裏，對他說：「在一座城裏有兩個人：一個是富戶，一個是窮人。

耶和華差遣拿單到大衛那裏。拿單到了他那裏，對他說：「在一座城裏有兩個人，一個是富翁，一個是窮人。

耶和華差遣拿單到大衛那裏。拿單到了他那裏，對他說：「在一座城裏有兩個人，一個是富翁，一個是窮人。

耶和華派拿單先知去見大衛。拿單對大衛說：「一座城裡有兩個人，一個富有，一個貧窮。

耶和華差派拿單去見大衛。於是拿單來到大衛那裡，對他說：“在一座城裡有兩個人，一個富有，一個貧窮。

於是永恆主差遣拿單去見大衛。拿單到了大衛那裏，對他說：『在一座城裏有兩個人；一個富足，一個窮乏。

耶和華派遣拿單去見大衛。拿單來到大衛那裡，對他說：「在一座城中有兩個人，一個富有，一個貧窮。

耶和華遣拿單見大衛、遂詣之、曰、有二人居於一邑、一富一貧、

耶和華遣拿單見大闢、告曰、邑中有二人、一富一貧、

主遣拿單往見大衛、拿單至大衛前、謂之曰、二人居一邑、一富一貧、

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said,“ There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.

The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. When Nathan came to him, he said,“ Two men lived in the same town. One was rich. The other was poor.

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him,“ There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.

So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,“ There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor.

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him:“ There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.

And Jehovah sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, Nathan said,“ There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him,“ There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man,“ Hit me!” But the man refused to hit the prophet.Then the prophet told him,“ Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And when he had gone, a lion did attack and kill him.Then the prophet turned to another man and said,“ Hit me!” So he struck the prophet and wounded him.The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king.As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him,“ Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said,‘ Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy five pounds of silver!’But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”“ Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied.“ You have brought the judgment on yourself.”Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going on their own stubborn way.I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn,

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story:“ A man had two sons.The younger son told his father,‘ I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.“ A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.“ When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself,‘ At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!I will go home to my father and say,“ Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’“ So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.His son said to him,‘ Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’“ But his father said to the servants,‘ Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.“ Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,and he asked one of the servants what was going on.‘ Your brother is back,’ he was told,‘ and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’“ The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,but he replied,‘ All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’“ His father said to him,‘ Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message:“ Go and say to David,‘ This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”So Gad came to David and asked him,“ Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

“ What’s the trouble?” the king asked.“ Alas, I am a widow!” she replied.“ My husband is dead.My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed.Now the rest of the family is demanding,‘ Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”“ Leave it to me,” the king told her.“ Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”“ Oh, thank you, my lord the king,” the woman from Tekoa replied.“ If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father’s house, and let the king and his throne be innocent.”“ If anyone objects,” the king said,“ bring him to me. I can assure you he will never harm you again!”Then she said,“ Please swear to me by the Lord your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.”“ As surely as the Lord lives,” he replied,“ not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”

“ Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said.“ The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”

At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense.

All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked,“ What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”Uriah replied,“ The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”“ Well, stay here today,” David told him,“ and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver.The letter instructed Joab,“ Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting.And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

“ Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.“ Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking,‘ Surely they will respect my son.’“ But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another,‘ Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.“ When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked,“ what do you think he will do to those farmers?”The religious leaders replied,“ He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”Then Jesus asked them,“ Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?‘ The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them— they were the wicked farmers.

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah,“ Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!”

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice.Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

But the angel of the Lord told Elijah, who was from Tishbe,“ Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them,‘ Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover?

When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies,the king summoned Nathan the prophet.“ Look,” David said,“ I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!”Nathan replied to the king,“ Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”But that same night the Lord said to Nathan,“ Go and tell my servant David,‘ This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in?

Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it.The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted,“ Listen to me, citizens of Shechem! Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king. First they said to the olive tree,‘ Be our king!’But the olive tree refused, saying,‘ Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses both God and people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’“ Then they said to the fig tree,‘ You be our king!’But the fig tree also refused, saying,‘ Should I quit producing my sweet fruit just to wave back and forth over the trees?’“ Then they said to the grapevine,‘ You be our king!’But the grapevine also refused, saying,‘ Should I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’“ Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said,‘ Come, you be our king!’And the thornbush replied to the trees,‘ If you truly want to make me your king, come and take shelter in my shade. If not, let fire come out from me and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’”

So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision.

Jesus said,“ There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.“ Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried,and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.“ The rich man shouted,‘ Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’“ But Abraham said to him,‘ Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’“ Then the rich man said,‘ Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’“ But Abraham said,‘ Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’“ The rich man replied,‘ No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’“ But Abraham said,‘ If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”