2 Samuel 12:7

THE MESSAGE

"You're the man!" said Nathan. "And here's what God , the God of Israel, has to say to you: I made you king over Israel. I freed you from the fist of Saul. I gave you your master's daughter and other wives to have and to hold. I gave you both Israel and Judah. And if that hadn't been enough, I'd have gladly thrown in much more. So why have you treated the word of God with brazen contempt, doing this great evil? You murdered Uriah the Hittite, then took his wife as your wife. Worse, you killed him with an Ammonite sword! And now, because you treated God with such contempt and took Uriah the Hittite's wife as your wife, killing and murder will continually plague your family. This is God speaking, remember! I'll make trouble for you out of your own family. I'll take your wives from right out in front of you. I'll give them to some neighbor, and he'll go to bed with them openly. You did your deed in secret; I'm doing mine with the whole country watching!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul.

Hebrew Names Version
Natan said to David, "You are the man. This is what the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, says: 'I anointed you king over Yisra'el, and I delivered you out of the hand of Sha'ul.

King James Version
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Lexham English Bible
Then Nathan said to him, "You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

English Standard Version
Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

New Century Version
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I appointed you king of Israel and saved you from Saul.

New English Translation
Nathan said to David, "You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

Amplified Bible
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul.

New American Standard Bible
Nathan then said to David, "You yourself are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Nathan sayd to Dauid, Thou art the man. Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, I anoynted thee King ouer Israel, and deliuered thee out of the hand of Saul,

Legacy Standard Bible
Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.

Contemporary English Version
Then Nathan told David: You are that rich man! Now listen to what the Lord God of Israel says to you: "I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul

Complete Jewish Bible
Natan said to David, "You are the man. "Here is what Adonai , the God of Isra'el says: ‘I anointed you king over Isra'el. I rescued you from the power of Sha'ul.

Darby Translation
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Easy-to-Read Version
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.

George Lamsa Translation
And Nathan said to David, You are the man. Thus says the LORD God of Israel, I anointed you king over my people Israel and I delivered you out of the hands of Saul,

Good News Translation
"You are that man," Nathan said to David. "And this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.

Literal Translation
And Nathan said to David, You are the man! So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Nathan vnto Dauid: Thou art euen the man. Thus sayeth the LORDE the God of Israel: I haue anoynted the to be kynge ouer Israel, and delyuered the out of the hande of Saul,

American Standard Version
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Bible in Basic English
And Nathan said to David, You are that man. The Lord God of Israel says, I made you king over Israel, putting holy oil on you, and I kept you safe from the hands of Saul;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Nathan saide to Dauid, Thou art the man: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel , I annoynted thee king ouer Israel, and ryd thee out of the hand of Saul.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Nathan said to David: 'Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

King James Version (1611)
And Nathan said to Dauid, Thou art the man: thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king ouer Israel, and I deliuered thee out of the hand of Saul,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man that has done this. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee to be king over Israel, and I rescued thee out the hand of Saul;

English Revised Version
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Berean Standard Bible
Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Nathan seide to Dauid, Thou art thilke man, that hast do this thing. The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y anoyntide thee `in to kyng on Israel, and Y delyuerede thee fro the hond of Saul,

Young's Literal Translation
And Nathan saith unto David, `Thou [art] the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Update Bible Version
And Nathan said to David, You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul;

Webster's Bible Translation
And Nathan said to David, Thou [art] the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul;

World English Bible
Nathan said to David, "You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

New King James Version
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

New Living Translation
Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man! The Lord , the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.

New Life Bible
Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from the hand of Saul.

New Revised Standard
Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Nathan unto David: Thou, art the man! Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel - I, anointed thee to be king over Israel, and, I, delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul,

Revised Standard Version
Nathan said to David, "You are the man. Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.

Contextual Overview

¹and sent Nathan to David. Nathan said to him, "There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. It ate off his plate and drank from his cup and slept on his bed. It was like a daughter to him. ⁴ "One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest." ⁵David 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!" ⁷"You're the man!" said Nathan. "And here's what God , the God of Israel, has to say to you: I made you king over Israel. I freed you from the fist of Saul. I gave you your master's daughter and other wives to have and to hold. I gave you both Israel and Judah. And if that hadn't been enough, I'd have gladly thrown in much more. So why have you treated the word of God with brazen contempt, doing this great evil? You murdered Uriah the Hittite, then took his wife as your wife. Worse, you killed him with an Ammonite sword! And now, because you treated God with such contempt and took Uriah the Hittite's wife as your wife, killing and murder will continually plague your family. This is God speaking, remember! I'll make trouble for you out of your own family. I'll take your wives from right out in front of you. I'll give them to some neighbor, and he'll go to bed with them openly. You did your deed in secret; I'm doing mine with the whole country watching!" ¹³Then David confessed to Nathan, "I've sinned against God ." Nathan pronounced, "Yes, but that's not the last word. God forgives your sin. You won't die for it. But because of your blasphemous behavior, the son born to you will die."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou art: 1 Samuel 13:13, 1 Kings 18:18, 1 Kings 21:19, 1 Kings 21:20, Matthew 14:14

I anointed: 2 Samuel 7:8, 1 Samuel 15:17, 1 Samuel 16:13

I delivered: 2 Samuel 22:1, 2 Samuel 22:49, 1 Samuel 18:11, 1 Samuel 18:21, 1 Samuel 19:10-15, 1 Samuel 23:7, 1 Samuel 23:14, 1 Samuel 23:26-28, Psalms 18:1, *title

Reciprocal: Genesis 38:24 - let her 1 Samuel 2:28 - And did I 2 Samuel 14:13 - Wherefore 1 Kings 3:6 - great 1 Kings 14:7 - Forasmuch 1 Kings 16:2 - I exalted thee 2 Kings 20:14 - What said 2 Chronicles 1:8 - Thou has showed 2 Chronicles 16:9 - Herein Job 21:31 - declare Psalms 65:3 - prevail Psalms 141:5 - the righteous Proverbs 9:8 - rebuke Proverbs 27:6 - the wounds Proverbs 28:23 - General Ecclesiastes 4:10 - if Jeremiah 2:31 - Have I been Jeremiah 34:6 - General Ezekiel 3:20 - because Daniel 4:22 - thou Matthew 14:4 - General Matthew 21:46 - they sought Mark 12:12 - knew

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
Noah built an altar to God . He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar. God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done.

Genesis 12:8
He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God .

Genesis 12:9
Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.

Genesis 13:18
Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .

Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family."

Genesis 17:3
Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face. Then God said to him, "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that ‘I'm making you the father of many nations.' I'll make you a father of fathers—I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."

Genesis 18:1
God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

Genesis 22:9
They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son.

Genesis 26:25
Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.

Genesis 28:13
Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God , the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Nathan said to David, thou [art] the man,.... The rich man, or who is designed by him in the parable, and answers to him t:

thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel; that is, ordered Samuel to anoint him, who did, 1 Samuel 16:1; to which this chiefly refers; and after that he was anointed first by the tribe of Judah, and then by all the tribes of Israel, by the appointment and providence of God; and this was great dignity he designed for him, and raised him to:

and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; when he persecuted him, and sought to take away his life.

t "----- mutato nomine, de te Fabula narratur -----". Horat. Sermon. l. 1. Satyr. 1. ver. 69,70.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 12:7. Thou art the man. — What a terrible word! And by it David appears to have been transfixed, and brought into the dust before the messenger of God.

THOU ART this son of death, and thou shalt restore this lamb FOURFOLD. It is indulging fancy too much to say David was called, in the course of a just Providence to pay this fourfold debt? to lose four sons by untimely deaths, viz., this son of Bath-sheba, on whom David had set his heart, was slain by the Lord; Amnon, murdered by his brother Absalom; Absalom, slain in the oak by Joab; and Adonijah, slain by the order of his brother Solomon, even at the altar of the Lord! The sword and calamity did not depart from his house, from the murder of wretched Amnon by his brother to the slaughter of the sons of Zedekiah, before their father's eyes, by the king of Babylon. His daughter was dishonoured by her own brother, and his wives contaminated publicly by his own son! How dreadfully, then, was David punished for his sin! Who would repeat his transgression to share in its penalty? Can his conduct ever be an inducement to, or an encouragement in, sin? Surely, No. It must ever fill the reader and the hearer with horror. Behold the goodness and severity of God! Reader, lay all these solemn things to heart.