2 Samuel 12:13

Context

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits adultery with Bathsheba and, to conceal it, arranges for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle. In chapter 12 the prophet Nathan tells the story of a rich man who took a poor man's only ewe lamb. David angrily declares that the rich man deserves to die, and Nathan answers, "Thou art the man" (2 Samuel 12:7). Nathan then announces the judgment that the sword shall never depart from David's house. Verse 13 records David's response to this rebuke and Nathan's declaration. In the next verse (2 Samuel 12:14), Nathan says that because this deed has given the enemies of the LORD occasion to blaspheme, the child born to Bathsheba will die.

Interpretation

• Readings focused on the nature of the confession: In the Hebrew text David's confession consists of only two words, ḥāṭāʾtî laYHWH ("I have sinned against the LORD"). Many commentators see in this immediate acknowledgment of sin, offered without excuse or condition, a picture of genuine repentance. It is often contrasted with the scene in 1 Samuel 15, where Saul says "I have sinned" while blaming the people.
• Readings that distinguish forgiveness from consequences: Nathan declares that David's sin is put away and that "thou shalt not die," yet the child's death and the calamities within David's house remain. The Reformed tradition reads this as grounds for distinguishing the forgiveness of guilt from God's chastisement. Chapter 11 of the Westminster Confession of Faith states that the justified may, by their sins, fall under God's "fatherly displeasure." Preaching in other denominations also commonly applies the passage to mean that even the forgiven reap the fruit of their sin.
• Readings that view the sin as against God: Although David wronged Uriah and Bathsheba, he says he sinned "against the LORD." This is commonly interpreted to mean that all sin is ultimately against God. Psalm 51:4, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned," which the psalm's superscription connects to this episode, is read in the same light.

Debates and Issues

• The death of the child: The scene in which a child dies because of his father's sin raises the question of whether it stands in tension with the principle of individual responsibility found in Ezekiel 18:19–20 and Deuteronomy 24:16. Some interpreters place the child under God's sovereignty, while others see the death as a consequence of the king's sin affecting the community. David's words concerning the child, "I shall go to him" (2 Samuel 12:23), are sometimes cited in discussions of the salvation of children who die in infancy.
• The place of the victims: In recent years, some have argued that this passage must not be used to minimize a king's abuse of power or to treat the victims lightly. Within the Korean church as well, critics have pointed out that in cases of sexual misconduct by leaders, some have demanded a swift return to ministry on the reasoning that "David also repented and was forgiven." This discussion is connected to sexual abuse in the church and church discipline.
• Translation: The Hebrew verb rendered "put away" means "to cause to pass over" or "to remove." It is therefore sometimes explained as a figurative image of sin being carried away and removed.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently cited alongside Psalm 51 in sermons on repentance. Sermons contrasting the responses of David and Saul when each was confronted with his sin are also common.

Related Passages

• 2 Samuel 12:14
• Psalm 51:4
• Psalm 32:5
• 1 Samuel 15:24
• 1 John 1:9