2 Samuel 12:1–7

Nathan Rebukes David

11:1; 12:29–31pp—1Ch 20:1–3

12The Lord sent Nathan^h to David.ⁱ When he came to him,^j he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

⁵David^k burned with anger^l against the man^m and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,ⁿ the man who did this must die! ⁶He must pay for that lamb four times over,^o because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

⁷Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!^p This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed^q you^r king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.