2 Samuel 12:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah 's wife bore to David, and he became sick.

NIV: After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

NASB: Then Nathan went to his house. L ater the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.

CSB: Then Nathan went home. The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became deathly ill.

NLT: After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.

KJV: And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

NKJV: Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.

To bring justice for Uriah, God has declared several punishments: David's household will suffer violence; evil will rise from his own house against him; his wives will be publicly humiliated by his neighbor; and the child Bathsheba carries will die (2 Samuel 12:10–12).

David thought no one knew the full extent of his sin. He took Bathsheba from her home and impregnated her. Then he brought her husband home from war, hoping Uriah would sleep with her and assume the child was his. When Uriah refused to go home, David arranged for him to die in battle and took Bathsheba for his wife (2 Samuel 11).

God had seen everything, of course, and sent Nathan to confront David. Nathan told David a parable about a lamb that was taken from the arms of her loving owner for a rich man's dinner. David had spent years protecting lambs, and the story struck a chord; he furiously demanded justice. Nathan revealed that David was that rich man (2 Samuel 12:1–6). After revealing God's judgment on David, Nathan goes home.

Sometime after, God's consequences begin to fall. David's son becomes sick. David will pray and fast for seven days as the boy lingers, but to no avail. When he's dead, David will accept God's decision with the same grace he accepted God's blessings.

Bathsheba will go on to have four more sons. One is the famous King Solomon. But another is called Nathan. He is the ancestor of Mary, Jesus' mother (1 Chronicles 3:5; Luke 3:31).

Second Samuel 12:15–23 presents David's loss as Uriah's justice. David stole Uriah's wife, made her pregnant, and murdered him, taking away his right to leave a descendant for his family line. As a parallel, David will experience the loss of a child. David fasts and prays for mercy but accepts God's will when the child dies. Bathsheba will have four more sons including Solomon, the future king (2 Samuel 12:24–25; 1 Chronicles 3:5).

In 2 Samuel 12, David learns the consequences of his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11). David thought no one of consequence knew what he'd done. Nathan the prophet reveals that God knows; the Lord demands justice for David's victims. David's household will rebel, and Bathsheba's son will die. David humbly repents, and Bathsheba later conceives Solomon, the future king. Joab, about to defeat the Ammonites, calls David to finish the fight. In 2 Samuel 13, the seeds of the promised rebellion are sown. Psalm 51 is David's expression of remorse for his sins.

David begins to lose control of his seemingly perfect situation. While the respected soldier Uriah was fighting Ammonites with Joab (2 Samuel 10), David slept with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. To cover her pregnancy, David arranged for Uriah to die in battle (2 Samuel 11). Nathan, the prophet, confronts David over his crimes. God takes the child's life and will allow David's household to rebel against him. This begins when David's son rapes his own half-sister, Tamar (2 Samuel 13), starting a series of events that will result in another son, Absalom, taking the throne from his father (2 Samuel 14—16).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.