Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, August 28th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

2 Samuel 12:5

David became very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - David;   Minister, Christian;   Nathan;   Parables;   Reproof;   Self-Condemnation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   David;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Poor, the;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Nathan;   Parable;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Anger;   Bathsheba;   Nathan;   Prophecy, prophet;   Wisdom literature;   Easton Bible Dictionary - David;   Oath;   Tekoa, Tekoah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Nathan;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Court Systems;   Crimes and Punishments;   David;   Jonah;   King, Kingship;   Parables;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon, Ammonites;   Nathan;   Poverty;   Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Nathan ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Nathan;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   David;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Law of Moses;   Na'than;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Nathan;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Nathan (1);   Samuel, Books of;   Sin (1);   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Allegory;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Bath-Sheba;   Judge;   Nathan;   Satire;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
Hebrew Names Version
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Natan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die!
King James Version
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:
Lexham English Bible
Then the anger of David was kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!
English Standard Version
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,
New Century Version
David became very angry at the rich man. He said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this should die!
New English Translation
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!
Amplified Bible
Then David's anger burned intensely against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die.
New American Standard Bible
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!
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Dauid was exceeding wroth with the man, and sayde to Nathan, As the Lorde liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely dye,
Legacy Standard Bible
Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
Contemporary English Version
David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan, "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this deserves to die!
Complete Jewish Bible
David exploded with anger against the man and said to Natan, "As Adonai lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
Darby Translation
Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death;
George Lamsa Translation
And Davids anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said, As the LORD lives, the man who has done this thing is worthy of death;
Good News Translation
David became very angry at the rich man and said, "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die!
Literal Translation
And David's anger glowed greatly against the man. And he said to Nathan, As Jehovah lives, surely the man who did this is a son of death.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The was Dauid wroth with greate displeasure agaynst that man, and sayde vnto Nathan: As truly as the LORDE lyueth, the man that hath done this, is the childe of death.
American Standard Version
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this is worthy to die:
Bible in Basic English
And David was full of wrath against that man; and he said to Nathan, By the living Lord, death is the right punishment for the man who has done this:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid was exceeding wroth with the man, and saide to Nathan: As the Lorde lyueth, the man that hath done this thing is the childe of death.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 deserveth to die;
King James Version (1611)
And Dauids anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely die.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David was greatly moved with anger against the man; and David said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man that did this thing shall surely die.
English Revised Version
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 is worthy to die:
Berean Standard Bible
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Dauid was ful wrooth with indignacioun ayens that man, and seide to Nathan, The Lord lyueth, for the man that dide this is the sone of deeth;
Young's Literal Translation
And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death [is] the man who is doing this,
Update Bible Version
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Yahweh lives, the man that has done this is worthy to die:
Webster's Bible Translation
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:
World English Bible
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die!
New King James Version
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!
New Living Translation
David was furious. "As surely as the Lord lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!
New Life Bible
David was very angry at the man, and said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, for sure the man who has done this should die.
New Revised Standard
Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then was kindled the anger of David against the man, fiercely, - and he said unto Nathan, By the life of Yahweh, doomed to death, is the man that hath done this;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And David’s anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death.
Revised Standard Version
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;
THE MESSAGE
David exploded in anger. "As surely as God lives," he said to Nathan, "the man who did this ought to be lynched! He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.

Contextual Overview

1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, "There were two men in a city. One man was rich, but the other man was poor. 2 The rich man had lots of sheep and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb that he bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and the lamb grew up with this poor man and his children. She ate from the poor man's food and drank from his cup. The lamb slept on the poor man's chest. The lamb was like a daughter to the poor man. 4 "Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to give food to the traveler, but he did not want to take any of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler. No, the rich man took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor." 5 David became very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! 6 He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy." 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are that rich man! This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I chose you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from Saul. 8 I let you take his family and his wives, and I made you king of Israel and Judah. As if that had not been enough, I would have given you more and more. 9 So why did you ignore my command? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You let the Ammonites kill Uriah the Hittite, and you took his wife. It is as if you yourself killed Uriah in war. 10 So your family will never have peace! When you took Uriah's wife, you showed that you did not respect me.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

David's: Genesis 38:24, 1 Samuel 25:21, 1 Samuel 25:22, Luke 6:41, Luke 6:42, Luke 9:55, Romans 2:1

As the Lord: 1 Samuel 14:39

shall surely die: or, is worthy to die, Heb. is a son of death, 1 Samuel 20:31, 1 Samuel 26:16, *marg.

Reciprocal: Genesis 20:9 - a great 1 Samuel 14:44 - thou shalt 2 Samuel 13:21 - he was very wroth 2 Samuel 14:8 - I will give 1 Kings 1:29 - As the 1 Kings 2:26 - worthy of death 1 Kings 20:40 - So shall thy judgment be Matthew 7:3 - but Matthew 21:31 - The first Romans 6:21 - for the 2 Corinthians 7:11 - indignation

Cross-References

Genesis 10:19
The land where the Canaanites lived went from Sidon down along the coast to Gerar and from Gaza as far east as Sodom and Gomorrah and from Admah and Zeboiim as far north as Laish.
Genesis 11:31
Terah took his family and left Ur of Babylonia. They planned to travel to Canaan. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram's wife). They traveled to the city of Haran and decided to stay there.
Genesis 12:5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the slaves, and all the other things he had gotten in Haran. Then he and his group moved to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:8
Then he left that place and traveled to the mountains east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built another altar at that place to honor the Lord , and he worshiped the Lord there.
Genesis 12:9
Then he moved on toward the Negev, stopping for a time at several places on the way.
Genesis 14:14
When Abram learned that Lot was captured, he called all of his family together. There were 318 trained soldiers. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan.
Genesis 14:21
Then the king of Sodom told Abram, "Give me my people who were captured. But you can keep everything else."
Acts 7:4
"So Abraham left the country of Chaldea. He went to live in Haran. After his father died, God sent him to this place, where you live now.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 12:5. The man - shall surely die — Literally בן מות ben maveth, "he is a son of death," a very bad man, and one who deserves to die. But the law did not sentence a sheep-stealer to death; let us hear it: If a man steal an ox or a sheep, he shall restore FIVE OXEN for an ox, and FOUR SHEEP for a sheep, Exodus 22:1; and hence David immediately says, He shall restore the lamb FOURFOLD.


 
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