2 Samuel 12

The LORD sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, "There were two men in one city. One was rich and the other was poor.

1And 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.

NoteA prophet in Israel was a person who delivered messages believed to come from God, often to the king directly, and often as criticism. Nathan is a court prophet, part of David's circle in Jerusalem, which is why he can walk in and speak.

2The rich man had very many sheep and cattle.

2The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

3But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It ate his food, drank from his cup, and slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

3But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

NoteA ewe lamb is a female lamb. A female is worth more than a male because she will breed and give milk, so for a poor family a single ewe was a whole future in one animal.

4A traveler came to the rich man. The rich man would not take one of his own sheep or cattle to cook a meal for the visitor who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man's lamb and cooked it for the man who had come."

4And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

NoteHospitality to a traveler was a firm obligation, not a courtesy: a host was expected to feed a stranger who arrived. Meat was expensive and rarely eaten, so slaughtering an animal marks a serious meal for an important guest.

5David became very angry at the man. He said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die.

5And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

Note"As surely as the LORD lives" is the standard Israelite oath formula, used to make a statement binding, roughly "I swear on God's own life." David is not commenting, he is passing sentence.

6He must pay back four lambs for the one he took, because he did this and showed no pity."

6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

NoteIsraelite law (Exodus 22:1) set the penalty for a stolen and slaughtered sheep at four sheep in return. David is quoting the statute, so his ruling sounds legal, except that he has just demanded the thief's death as well, which the law did not.

7Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man. This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I chose you and poured oil on you to make you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul.

7And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

NoteAnointing meant pouring olive oil over a person's head. It was the public act that installed someone in an office, king or priest, and marked them as chosen for it rather than merely appointed.

8I gave you your master's house, and I put your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the people of Israel and Judah. If that had been too little, I would have given you much more.

8And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

NoteTaking possession of a dead king's harem was how a successor demonstrated he had inherited the throne; the wives came with the kingdom. This is why the same act, done by someone else, appears later as a claim to David's own throne.

9So why have you looked down on the LORD's command and done what is evil in his sight? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

9Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

NoteUriah is called "the Hittite," meaning he was of foreign descent but living in Israel and serving as one of David's elite soldiers. The Ammonites were a neighboring people east of the Jordan; David's army was besieging their capital at the time, which is how Uriah's death in battle could be arranged.

10So now the sword will never leave your family, because you looked down on me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.'

10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11This is what the LORD says: 'Look, I am going to bring trouble against you out of your own family. I will take your wives while you watch and give them to a man close to you, and he will sleep with them in plain daylight.

11Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

NoteThe Hebrew word rendered "neighbor" means an associate or someone close at hand, and no name is given. The wording leaves who it will be deliberately open.

12You did what you did in secret, but I will do this thing in front of all Israel, out in the open daylight.'"

12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

13David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan said to David, "The LORD has also taken away your sin. You will not die.

13And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

NoteNathan's reply answers David's own sentence in verse 5. Under Israelite law both adultery and murder carried the death penalty, so "you will not die" is a legal remission, not a general statement.

14But because by doing this you have given the enemies of the LORD a great reason to speak against him, the son who has been born to you will surely die."

14Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

NoteThe Hebrew here literally says David has made "the enemies of the LORD" scorn, a phrasing many scholars think was softened by ancient copyists who did not want to write that David scorned God directly. Modern translations often restore the harder sense, "you have shown utter contempt for the LORD."

15Then Nathan went home. The LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and the child became very sick.

15And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16So David begged God for the child. David went without food, went inside, and lay on the ground all night.

16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

NoteGoing without food and lying on the bare ground were the recognized outward acts of grief and of pleading, a public, physical form of petition rather than a private feeling. Some ancient copies add that David lay in sackcloth, coarse cloth worn to signal mourning.

17The older men of his household stood beside him and tried to lift him up from the ground, but he would not get up, and he would not eat any food with them.

17And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

Note"The older men of his household" are the senior officials who ran the royal household, not simply elderly relatives. Their job included keeping the king functioning.

18On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him the child was dead. They said, "Look, while the child was still alive we spoke to him and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may hurt himself."

18And 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, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19But David saw his servants whispering, and he understood that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."

19But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

20Then David got up from the ground. He washed, rubbed oil on himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, asked for food, and they set it before him, and he ate.

20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

NoteWashing, rubbing on olive oil, and putting on fresh clothes are the exact reversal of mourning, which meant leaving oneself unwashed and unoiled. Oil on the skin was ordinary daily grooming in a hot climate. The "house of the LORD" here is not the temple, which was not built until Solomon's reign, but the tent in Jerusalem that housed the ark.

21His servants said to him, "Why have you done this? While the child was alive you went without food and wept, but when the child died you got up and ate."

21Then said his servants unto 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 and eat bread.

22He said, "While the child was still alive, I went without food and wept. I said, 'Who knows? The LORD may be kind to me and let the child live.'

22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

23But now he is dead. Why should I go without food? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not come back to me."

23But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Note"I will go to him" means that David will one day die as the child has. Israelites of this period spoke of the dead as gathered in a shadowy common place, from which no one returned; the sentence is about David's own future death, and says nothing more specific than that.

24David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her, and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. The LORD loved the boy.

24And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.

NoteThe name Solomon (Hebrew Shelomoh) is built on the root that gives shalom, peace, wholeness, completeness.

25The LORD sent word through Nathan the prophet, and Nathan named the boy Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

25And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

NoteJedidiah means "beloved of the LORD." The child is given a second, God-given name alongside Solomon; only Solomon is used afterwards.

26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah, a city of the Ammonites, and captured the royal city.

26And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

NoteRabbah was the fortified capital of Ammon, on the site of modern Amman in Jordan. The "royal city" is the fortified citadel quarter where the palace stood.

27Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have captured the part of the city that holds its water supply.

27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

NoteAncient cities were taken by cutting them off from water. Once Joab held the section controlling the springs and water supply, the rest of the city could not hold out, so the fall was only a matter of time.

28So now gather the rest of the troops, set up camp against the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me."

28Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.

NoteA conqueror's name could be attached to a captured city. Joab is warning David that if the king is not personally present for the final assault, the credit, and the political weight that came with it, will attach to Joab instead.

29So David gathered all the troops and went to Rabbah. He fought against it and captured it.

29And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

30He took the crown off their king's head. It weighed a talent of gold and had precious stones in it, and it was placed on David's head. David also carried off a very large amount of goods from the city.

30And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

NoteA talent was roughly seventy-five pounds, far too heavy to wear on the head; the crown was probably held above the king or the weight refers to the gold and gems together. The Hebrew for "their king" (malkam) is also the name of the Ammonite god Milcom, so the crown may have been taken from the head of an idol rather than a man; the text can be read either way.

31He brought out the people who were in the city and set them to saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and put them to work at the brick kiln. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the troops went back to Jerusalem.

31And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

NoteThis verse is genuinely disputed. The Hebrew can mean that David set the captives to work with saws, iron picks and axes and at the brickmaking, or that he put them under those implements: that is, executed them with them. The older English versions took the second sense; most modern translations take the first. The consonants of the Hebrew allow both.