2 Samuel 12:1

2 Samuel 12:1-6. Nathan's Parable

1. theLord sent Nathan A year had passed, and Bath-sheba's child had been born, before Nathan was sent to rouse the king's slumbering conscience.

To this crisis belong Psalms 51. and 32. See Introd. ch. VIII. § 5, p. 47.

and said unto him Some MSS of the Vulg. add Give me a judgment. The words cannot be regarded as part of the original text, though they are a correct gloss. The prophet asks for the king's decision, as though he were consulting him about a case which had really happened. Compare the plan adopted by the widow of Tekoah (ch. 2 Samuel 14:4-7); and by the prophet sent to rebuke Ahab (1 Kings 20:35-41). Other parables are found in the O.T. in Judges 9:7-15; 2 Kings 14:9; Isaiah 5:1-2.