(SEE 12:13)
Then Nathan went back home. The LORD made David's young son very sick.
I continued, "What you have done is wrong! We must honor our God by the way we live, so the Gentiles can't find fault with us.
LORD God All-Powerful, ruler of Israel, don't let me embarrass anyone who trusts and worships you.
Our God, how much longer will our enemies sneer? Won't they ever stop insulting you?
Our LORD, you bless everyone that you instruct and teach by using your Law.
Our LORD and our God, you answered their prayers and forgave their sins, but when they did wrong, you punished them.
and now another nation has taken you prisoner for no reason at all. Your leaders groan with pain, and day after day my own name is cursed.
Of all nations on earth, you are the only one I have chosen. That's why I will punish you because of your sins.
The world is in for trouble because of the way it causes people to sin. There will always be something to cause people to sin, but anyone who does this will be in for trouble.
It is just as the Scriptures tell us, "You have made foreigners say insulting things about God."
But when the Lord judges and punishes us, he does it to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world.
The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own."
I correct and punish everyone I love. So make up your minds to turn away from your sins.
