2 Samuel 12:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then David 's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,

NIV: David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!

NASB: Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this certainly deserves to die!

CSB: David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: "As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

NLT: David was furious. 'As surely as the Lord lives,' he vowed, 'any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!

KJV: And 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:

NKJV: So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “ As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!

Nathan has come to David with a report of injustice in the kingdom. A poor man had a single lamb whom he loved as a daughter. A rich man stole the lamb for a visitor's dinner (2 Samuel 12:1–4). David, the protective shepherd, feels the injustice deeply (1 Samuel 17:34–36). David, the king, can do something about it.

It quickly becomes clear that David thinks Nathan is reporting an actual crime that has happened in David's kingdom. The king believes his advisor has come so David can hold accountable an otherwise untouchable wealthy man. This is an opportunity to deliver justice against a privileged man who brutalized a poor man out of heartless greed.

David's anger toward the rich man is appropriate. One of the jobs of the king of Israel is to make sure that the poor in his kingdom are treated fairly. Without that oversight, wealthy people can easily bribe judges and hire strong men to get away with whatever they want. God absolutely forbids Israel to treat the poor unjustly and holds the nation accountable when the rich and powerful allow it to happen (Exodus 23:6; Proverbs 31:9; Isaiah 3:14).

Having heard only Nathan's brief description of events, David proclaims that this rich man deserves to die for such an action, words that will quickly overwhelm him when he realizes the truth: the story is a parable. David is the rich man who stole Uriah's most precious love: Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3–5, 14–15). To his credit, David's rage turns to grief and horror at his abuse of Uriah and Bathsheba, but also at his sin against God (2 Samuel 12:7, 13; Psalm 51).

Second Samuel 12:1–6 exposes King David's hypocrisy. He slept with Bathsheba, murdered her husband, and married her to cover her pregnancy. He thinks no one of consequence knows the truth. He's forgotten about God. God sends a prophet, Nathan, to confront David with his sin. Nathan tells David a parable comparing the king to a rich man who steals a poor man's beloved lamb for dinner. David was a shepherd and he's outraged. Then Nathan reveals that David is the rich man and God's judgment is coming (2 Samuel 12:7–14).

In 2 Samuel 12, David learns the consequences of his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11). David thought no one of consequence knew what he'd done. Nathan the prophet reveals that God knows; the Lord demands justice for David's victims. David's household will rebel, and Bathsheba's son will die. David humbly repents, and Bathsheba later conceives Solomon, the future king. Joab, about to defeat the Ammonites, calls David to finish the fight. In 2 Samuel 13, the seeds of the promised rebellion are sown. Psalm 51 is David's expression of remorse for his sins.

David begins to lose control of his seemingly perfect situation. While the respected soldier Uriah was fighting Ammonites with Joab (2 Samuel 10), David slept with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. To cover her pregnancy, David arranged for Uriah to die in battle (2 Samuel 11). Nathan, the prophet, confronts David over his crimes. God takes the child's life and will allow David's household to rebel against him. This begins when David's son rapes his own half-sister, Tamar (2 Samuel 13), starting a series of events that will result in another son, Absalom, taking the throne from his father (2 Samuel 14—16).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.