Replies

From: 2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17

David’s Repentance

[1] And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him,
“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. [2] The
rich man had very many flocks and herds; [3] but the poor man had nothing but
one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up
with him and with his children; it used to eat of his morsel, and drink from his cup,
and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. [4] Now there came a tra-
veller to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to
prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb,
and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” [5] 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; [6] and he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

[7a] Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the LORD, the God of Is-
rael, [10] ‘Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because
you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own
house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor,
and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. [12] For you did it secretly;
but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’” [13] David said to Na-
than, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD al-
so has put away your sin; you shall not die. [14] Nevertheless, because by this
deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.”
[15] Then Nathan went to his house.

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick.
[16] David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and
lay all night upon the ground, [17] And the elders of his house stood beside him,
to raise him from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

12:1-25. Nathan’s intervention (vv. 1-15), David’s repentance (vv. 16-19), and the
birth of Solomon (vv. 20-25) are the main subjects in this chapter. Nathan makes
an appeal to David with one of the most beautiful parables in the Old Testament
and gets the king to condemn his own conduct: “the man who has done this de-
serves to die” (v. 5). In reply, Nathan tells him the penalty the Lord has decreed,
which in line with the law of vengeance or retaliation has three parts to it, corres-
ponding to David’s triple crime—murder, adultery and the fact that the victim was
a blameless man. On account of the murder, the sword will not depart from Da-
vid’s house (V. 10): this punishment will affect his eldest sons, Amnon, Absalom
and Adonijah, who will die violent deaths. For the adultery, his wives will be vio-
lated in public (v. 11), which will happen when Absalom takes his father’s harem
(cf. 16:20-23). And for the killing of an innocent man, his own recently born son
will not survive (v. 14).

David’s repentance is exemplary (vv. 16-19): he weeps for his sin, and fasts and
pleads for his little son: so, in spite of his weaknesses and sins, he still trusts
in the Lord and shows himself to be “a man after (the Lord’s) own heart” (1 Sam
13:14). David is a model of penance because, by acknowledging his sin, he ob-
tained divine forgiveness. His repentance finds expression in Psalm 51, which so
beautifully and piously records the sinful king’s supplication to the Lord: “Have
mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abun-
dant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!” (Ps 51:1-2).

The birth of a new son (vv. 20-25) brings this account to an end and makes it
clear that Solomon was born within marriage; his birth causes David great joy
and he is given a second name in a message from Nathan—”Jedidiali” (v. 25);
beloved of the Lord. This means that, from birth, Solomon is the one chosen by
God to advance his plan of salvation for Israel.

Great was David’s sin, and heartfelt his contrition. But God’s forgiveness is grea-
test of all. “In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had
only one reason to reveal himself to theirs, a single motive for choosing them
from among all peoples as his special possession—his sheer gratuitous love. And
thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God ne-
ver stopped saving them and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins” (”Catechism
of the Catholic Church”, 218).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.