David and Bathsheba Page #5

I will waste the land with drought,

the people with famine.

Yea, I will smite Israel

for its sin against me.

Woe unto Israel.

Woe unto my people who have sinned. "

What sin, Nathan?

The Lord has not vouchsafed to me

its nature...

...but evidently the sin is great...

...thus to incur his wrath.

Does it take so much

to make him angry?

That soldier who laid hands on the Ark,

he was only trying to be helpful.

It is not for us to question

the ways of the Lord.

I question nothing.

Yet the sun was hot that day.

The man had been drinking wine.

All were excited

when the Ark began to fall.

Is it not possible that the man might

have died naturally from other causes?

All causes are of God.

We've had droughts before, Nathan.

I am buying grain

in Egypt and Philistia.

There will be enough until the rains

come, if I have to empty my treasuries.

DAVID:

Now, what more can I do?

DAVID:
Is there anything else?

- Yes, sire.

NATHAN:
I have sat in the gate and

listened to the people talk of the king.

What do they say?

They say that David

is no longer David.

They say that he neglects his duty,

that he is often away from the city.

When he is here,

he has turned his face from his people.

Petitioners are sent away

from his door without a hearing.

In hard times,

it's natural that some will complain.

Complain, yes, sire.

But not talk openly

of overthrowing the king.

Explain yourself.

The hearts of the Israelites

are turning after your son.

Well, it's difficult to imagine

poor Amnon winning anyone's heart.

Not Amnon.

Your second son, Absalom.

- The boy?

- Every day, he is at the gate...

...seeking those you have turned away.

To these he says:

"Oh, that I were made

a judge in the land...

...that all may come to me

and receive justice. "

Confine yourself to the affairs of God.

- Leave the affairs of the kingdom to me.

ABISHAl:
Sire.

Oh, Abishai. I have orders for Joab.

The king forgets that he, too,

is a servant of the Lord.

The priests are waiting.

I have been waiting

these days and weeks.

Waiting for a word from the one

who called himself my lover.

For a sign that all of his promises

were not lies.

- Beloved, I...

- Do not call me that, the word is a lie.

If you still loved me,

you would not have avoided me.

You would not have left me in darkness,

alone with my fears.

- You know that I was called to Rabbah...

- It is a week since your return.

They are waiting.

Let them wait.

There will be no wedding.

I will not try to justify my behavior.

But even if I have earned

your hatred...

...you know why

the wedding must take place.

I could more easily find courage

to face the stones of the mob.

If our marriage is no more than an act

of charity on your part, then say so.

If I have lost your love, tell me,

and I will trouble you no longer.

I am not a beggar, David.

Beloved...

...it is I who am the beggar.

I beg your patience.

If you love me, say no more.

Take my love on faith.

It is yours and will always be yours.

Come, my wife.

[BLEATING]

[KNOCKING AND MEN SHOUTING]

[BABY MURMURS]

[INAUDIBLE WHISPERING]

My lady.

The king should be called

if he would again see his son alive.

Call him.

Sire.

The lady Bathsheba

asks your presence.

The child is better?

No, sire.

The physicians can do no more.

They say he will die.

I know.

I have known it these seven days.

I have lain in sackcloth on the earth.

I have fasted. I have tried to pray.

My prayers were only words...

...going out into emptiness.

They fell on no ears but my own.

[BATHSHEBA WEEPING]

Sire.

You told me to inform you,

the ambassador from Egypt has arrived.

Shall I send him away?

No, I will go down.

The time for grieving has past.

Will it bring my son back

if I mourn for him?

No, I shall go to him.

But he will not return to me.

The heart of the pharaoh bleeds for

his cousin and for the people of Israel.

But alas, the pharaoh's

storehouses are empty.

There is barely enough grain

to feed Egypt.

The heart of a pharaoh cannot bleed

for it is bloodless.

The storehouses of Egypt are full.

By sacred Osiris, I swear to you,

I speak truth.

Dog of Egypt, you lie,

and your master lies.

It is only what I expected.

Charity is not to be found

among those...

...who make gods of vultures

and hyenas.

- Now go.

FLUNKY:
Nathan, the prophet of God.

[CHATTERING]

I come on a matter of justice, sire.

Hear and render judgment.

You may speak.

There were two men,

one rich and one poor.

The rich man owned

great flocks and herds.

But the poor man had naught

but one ewe lamb.

He reared it and it grew up with him

and his children.

It ate of his food and drank of his cup.

It was like a daughter to him.

Now there came a wayfarer

to the rich man asking meat.

But the rich man did not take

of his own flocks to feed his guest.

Instead, he took the poor man's

one ewe lamb and slew it...

...and prepared it for the wayfarer.

What is your verdict upon this man?

He shall restore the lamb seven-fold.

NATHAN:

The lamb is dead, it cannot be restored.

Then the man deserves to die

because he had no pity.

You are the man.

You have made me pronounce

sentence upon myself.

Very well.

It is done.

Then there is no appeal.

It is the will of God,

and I accept it. Gladly.

NATHAN:
It is not his will

that you should die, David.

Worthy or unworthy,

you are his anointed.

Through Samuel,

he chose you to lead his people.

Your labors in his behalf

are still unfinished.

But you cannot escape

the punishment of the Lord.

I have not escaped it.

My son is dead.

NATHAN:

His justice is still unsatisfied.

You've paid for your adultery,

but you have also killed.

You've taken up the sword and slain

your fellow creature for your desire.

NATHAN:
Now, therefore the sword

shall never depart from your house.

You shall know the hatred

and ingratitude of your own flesh.

Brother shall turn against brother

and son against father.

The history of David's house

shall be a history written in blood.

You tell me nothing new.

- I am content.

- Even so the tally of the Lord is not paid.

The woman is being denounced.

She also must expiate her sin.

She has lost her child.

- Is that not enough?

- Bathsheba has sinned...

...and she must render payment

according to the law of Moses.

[CROWD SHOUTING]

Uriah's death was my act

and mine alone.

NATHAN:

She was a faithless wife.

Faithless only because I made her so.

Could she deny the king?

When I called her, could she refuse

to obey my commands?

No. She would never lie for herself...

...and I will not lie for her.

But even if she sinned...

...she has done no evil.

She came to me

with love and tenderness.

She lifted up my heart.

She has brought no evil with her.

NATHAN:

She has brought adultery and murder.

She has brought

the drought and the famine.

She has brought

the wrath of God upon Israel.

[CROWD CHEERING

AND SHOUTING]

They know the law

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