Bible Strands
2 Samuel 12:4
Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nathan confronts King David with a parable to expose David’s guilt regarding his treatment of Uriah and Bathsheba. This dialogue occurs immediately after Nathan describes the poor man’s cherished lamb and directly precedes David’s declaration of judgment.
The words — The narrative emphasizes וַ/יַּחְמֹל (va/i.yach.Mol), meaning "he spared," and לָ/קַ֤חַת (la./Ka.chat), meaning "to take." These verbs mark the rich man’s deliberate refusal to use his own livestock while seizing the poor man’s lamb.
The thread — The hospitality motif recurs in Genesis 18:2, and the warning against yielding to personal desire aligns with James 1:14. The parable directly addresses the injustice David committed in 2 Samuel 11:3–4.
Why it lands — The text forces the reader to see how power distorts hospitality into theft. It demands a clear-eyed examination of one’s own actions before issuing judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
Cross-references
- James 1:14 But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
- 2 Samuel 11:3 So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
- Genesis 18:2 And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.