2 Samuel 12:5

5 David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the one who did this is demonic!

2 Samuel 12:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 12:5

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man
That had done this, taking it for a real fact:

and he said to Nathan, [as] the Lord liveth, the man that hath done
this [thing] shall surely die;
which be said in the transport of his wrath and fury; otherwise a thief, according to the law of Moses, was not to be put to death, but to make restitution; and if he was not able to make it, then to be sold, but he was not to die for it; but David thought the crime was so greatly aggravated by being done by a rich man, and by the loss the poor man sustained, it being his all, and the fact, in all its circumstances, so cruel and barbarous, that the guilty person ought to die: how much more vehemently, and indeed with justice, would he have passed the sentence of death on him, or condemned him to it, had it been put in the parable, that the rich man not only took the poor man's ewe lamb, but killed the poor man himself? but this Nathan left out, that David might not take his meaning, as Abarbinel thinks, who then would have been upon his guard, and not have condemned himself; and hereby also Nathan had this advantage against him, that if this man deserved to die, who had only taken the poor man's ewe lamb, then how much more ought he to die, who had not only committed adultery with Bathsheba, but had slain Uriah?

2 Samuel 12:5 In-Context

3 but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn't willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor."
5 David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the one who did this is demonic!
6 He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion."
7 "You are that man!" Nathan told David. “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from Saul's power.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or as good as dead; MT a son of death
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