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But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children.[a] It used to[b] eat his food,[c] drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms.[d] It was just like a daughter to him.

“When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home,[e] he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed[f] the traveler who had come to visit him.[g] Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked[h] it for the man who had come to visit him.”

Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die![i]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “his sons.”
  2. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.
  3. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “from his morsel.”
  4. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lie.”
  5. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.
  6. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”
  7. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
  8. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “and prepared.”
  9. 2 Samuel 12:5 tn Heb “the man doing this [is] a son of death.” See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean “he is as good as dead” or “he deserves to die,” as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.

but 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.

“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.”

David(A) burned with anger(B) against the man(C) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,(D) the man who did this must die!

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