2 Samuel 12:13-16

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

( THE PALACE .) The acknowledgment of sin. "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord." 1 . The words of the prophet were a decisive test of the character of David. Had he treated the messenger and his message as others have done ( 1 Samuel 15:12-21 ; 1 Kings 13:4 ; 1 Kings 21:20 ; 1 Kings 22:8 ; Jeremiah 36:23 ; Luke 3:10 ; Acts 24:25 ), his partial blindness to his sin would have become total, and he would have fallen to a still lower depth,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

( THE PALACE .) The forgiveness of sin. "And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." "The absolver saw the mighty grief, And hastened with relief;— 'The Lord forgives; thou shalt not die' 'Twas gently spoke, yet heard on high, And all the band of angels, us'd to sing In heaven, accordant to his raptured string, Who many a month had turned away With veiled eyes, nor own'd his lay, "Now spread their wings and throng around ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

Confession and pardon. Two things are very surprising in this narrative—the awful wickedness of David, and the abounding mercy of God. I. DAVID 'S CONFESSION . It was: 1 . Very prompt. The prophet's address awakened no resentment. There was no attempt at evasion, palliation, or self-justification. How could there be? He at once acknowledged his sin. This was the result, not only of Nathan's faithful reproof, but of the king's own previous mental exercises. The time which had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme; Hebrew, thou hast made the enemies of Jehovah to despise; that is, to despise Jehovah's government, the theocracy, of which David was the visible head and earthly representative. Jehovah's enemies are not the heathen, but Israelitish unbelievers, who would scoff at all religion when one in David's position fell into terrible open sin. But the death of the adulterous offspring of David and Bathsheba would prove to these... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

( THE PALACE .) Giving occasion to blaspheme. "Nevertheless, because by this deed thou hast surely caused [literally, 'causing,' etc; 'hast caused,' etc.] the enemies of Jehovah to speak evil ['despise,' 'contemn,' 'abhor,' provoke,' 'blaspheme']," etc. A scorner, being in company with a devout man, took occasion to speak contemptuously of those whom he called "the Old Testament saints," and especially of David as "a man after God's own heart," asking, "And what did he do?" "He wrote... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

Religion reproached through the conduct of the religious. David's wickedness gave occasion for reproach of religion by the ungodly among his subjects, and by the heathen peoples around. Indeed, it occasions blasphemy and contempt of religion down to the present day. I. CONDUCT WHICH OCCASIONS CONTEMPT AND REPROACH OF RELIGION . The conduct must be that of professedly religious men, and the more strict their profession, and the more prominent their position, so much the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-23

( THE PALACE AND THE TABERNACLE .) David's behaviour in affliction. In one of the chambers of David's palace his little child lies smitten with a fatal malady. In another the king, divested of his royal robes and clothed in sackcloth, prostrates himself in profound sorrow and abasement. He prays, weeps, fasts, and lies all night upon the ground. His oldest and most confidential servants endeavour to comfort him, and beseech him to take food, in vain. At length the blow falls;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-31

The facts are: 1 . The child born to David becoming very sick, he entreats God for its life by prayer and fasting. 2 . He persists in refusing the consolations which the elders of his household offer him. 3 . The child dying on the seventh day and David observing the whisperings of his servants, at once ascertains by direct inquiry the certainty of it. 4 . His servants noticing that, on ascertaining the fact of the child's death, he lays aside the tokens of grief and resumes... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

David … went in. He went, not into the sanctuary, which he did not enter until after the child's death, but into some private room in his own house. There he remained, passing his nights stretched on the ground, and fasting until the seventh day. His fasting does not imply that he took no food during this long interval, but that he abstained from the royal table, and ate so much only as was necessary to maintain life. Now, what was the meaning of this privacy and abstinence? Evidently it was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 12:13

For a comment on David’s words, read Psalms 51:0; Psalms 32:1-11.Thou shalt not die - Not spoken of the punishment of death as affixed to adultery by the Mosaic Law: the application of that law Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; John 8:5 to an absolute Eastern monarch was out of the question. The death of the soul is meant (compare Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:13, Ezekiel 18:18). read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:14

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-23

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-31

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 12:13

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