2 Samuel 12:15 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.
2 Samuel 12:15 nkjv
Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.
2 Samuel 12:15 niv
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
2 Samuel 12:15 esv
Then Nathan went to his house. David's Child Dies And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick.
2 Samuel 12:15 nlt
After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah's wife.
2 Samuel 12 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 2:17 | "...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." | Consequences of disobedience, sin brings death. |
| Exod 12:23 | "For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door..." | God's act of "striking" as judgment. |
| Num 11:33 | "...while the meat was still between their teeth...the anger of the Lord blazed...and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague." | God's direct punishment via plague. |
| Deut 28:20 | "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do..." | Judgment as a consequence of sin. |
| Deut 28:22 | "...the Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever, with inflammation..." | God uses disease as a form of judgment. |
| 2 Sam 11:27 | "...but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." | Background to God's displeasure with David. |
| 2 Sam 12:10 | "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." | Direct prophecy of calamity on David's house. |
| 2 Sam 12:13-14 | "David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."...the child who is born to you shall die." | Immediate prophecy of the child's death. |
| 2 Sam 12:18 | "On the seventh day the child died..." | Fulfillment of prophecy about child's death. |
| Psa 32:3-4 | "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me..." | Physical manifestation of guilt and God's hand. |
| Psa 38:3 | "There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin." | Sin affecting physical well-being. |
| Psa 51:1-4 | "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love..." | David's prayer of repentance. |
| Psa 89:30-32 | "If his children forsake my law...then I will punish their transgression with the rod..." | Consequences for David's descendants. |
| Prov 13:15 | "Good sense wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard." | The difficult path for those who sin. |
| Isa 5:25 | "Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people...and their dead bodies were as refuse in the midst of the streets." | God's hand in causing widespread suffering. |
| Lam 5:7 | "Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities." | Suffering due to ancestral sin. |
| Amos 3:6 | "...Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it?" | God's sovereignty over calamitous events. |
| Rom 5:12 | "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—" | Origin of sin and death's universal impact. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." | Wages of sin. |
| Heb 12:6 | "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." | God's discipline, even for beloved ones. |
| Jas 1:15 | "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." | Sin's progression to death. |
| Rev 2:22-23 | "Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation... and I will strike her children dead." | Consequences for adultery, including striking children. |
2 Samuel 12 verses
2 Samuel 12 15 Meaning
The prophet Nathan, having delivered God's severe judgment upon David for his sins of adultery and murder, departed David's presence. Immediately, the Lord demonstrated the veracity of His word by afflicting the child born from David's illicit union with Bathsheba, causing it to fall into a life-threatening illness. This divine act was a direct consequence of David's disobedience and served as the initial fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy that the sword would never depart from David's house and that calamity would rise against him from his own household.
2 Samuel 12 15 Context
This verse immediately follows Nathan's dramatic confrontation with David, where he reveals God's severe judgment for David's adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. In 2 Sam 12:7-14, Nathan pronounces a four-fold consequence for David's actions: the sword will never depart from his house (v.10), calamity will rise from his own household (v.11), his wives will be shamed publicly (v.11), and the child born to him by Bathsheba will die (v.14). David's sincere repentance ("I have sinned against the Lord," v.13) prompts Nathan to declare that David himself will not die, but the stipulated punishment concerning the child must still be fulfilled because David's act had given "utter occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." Historically, this incident takes place during the height of David's reign, highlighting that even Israel's greatest king was accountable to God and not immune from the dire consequences of flagrant sin, particularly a sin that brought scandal upon God's name among the nations. The divine intervention via the illness serves as a swift and undeniable confirmation of Nathan's prophetic word, initiating a series of calamities that would indeed plague David's family and kingdom for years to come.
2 Samuel 12 15 Word analysis
- So Nathan departed: This marks the completion of the prophetic pronouncement. Nathan, as God's chosen messenger, has delivered the divine verdict, signaling that the word has been spoken and God's action will now commence. His departure emphasizes the finality of the message and the inevitability of the coming judgment.
- to his house: Signifies the return of the prophet to his private sphere. This transition underscores that while David's private sin has had public repercussions, the immediate unfolding of the consequence now shifts back to a more personal sphere for David himself, initiated by a divine act.
- And the Lord struck: (וַיִּגֹּף - vayiggoff) A powerful and deliberate Hebrew verb indicating a direct and forceful divine intervention. This term is frequently used in the Bible to describe God inflicting plagues, disease, or a fatal blow as a judgment (e.g., Exod 12:23; Num 14:12; 2 Sam 6:7). This is not a random natural occurrence but a precise, sovereign act of God, underscoring His control over life and death and the direct consequence of His displeasure.
- the child: (הַיֶּלֶד - hayyeled) The definite article ("the") identifies the specific infant born from David's illicit relationship with Bathsheba. This emphasizes the immediate and personal target of the judgment upon David, as the child's suffering and eventual death directly impacts him where he is most vulnerable. It also highlights the tragic involvement of an innocent party in the fallout of sin.
- that Uriah's wife bore to David: This precise and detailed phrase, referring to Bathsheba as "Uriah's wife" (אֵשֶׁת־אֽוּרִיָּה - ʼēshet-ʼûrīyyâ), is a critical linguistic and thematic choice. It perpetually ties the child back to the grave sin of adultery and murder, even though Bathsheba is now David's legal wife. It serves as an unrelenting reminder of the sin's origin and the identity of the wronged party. The phrase "bore to David" confirms David's biological fatherhood, ensuring he directly bears the consequence for the child conceived in sin, linking him explicitly to his past transgression.
- so that it became very ill: (וַיֶּחֱלָה - vayechleh from חָלָה - chalah) The repetition of the verb ḥālāh through an infinitive absolute construct ("became ill, grievously ill") signifies the extreme severity and rapid progression of the child's sickness. It was not a typical childhood ailment but an intense, divinely inflicted malady that rapidly moved towards death, directly fulfilling Nathan's prophecy. This emphasizes the fatal and preordained nature of the illness as God's instrument of judgment.
2 Samuel 12 15 Bonus section
The concept of God "striking" is a recurring biblical motif to denote direct divine judgment or intervention, ranging from plagues (Exod) to individual punishments (e.g., Uzzah in 2 Sam 6). This emphasizes God's active involvement in the world, His holiness, and His commitment to justice. While tragic, the child's death in this context aligns with Old Testament patterns where the consequences of parental sin could affect their offspring (e.g., Exod 20:5; 34:7), though the child is not seen as personally culpable. The purpose here is explicitly stated as being due to David's act giving "utter occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme" (2 Sam 12:14). Thus, the judgment, while impacting the innocent, primarily served as a corrective and retributive action directed at David's behavior and the integrity of God's name. This event showcases God's balanced character, being both just and merciful; He spared David's life, but not the consequences that honored His righteousness and disciplined His beloved king.
2 Samuel 12 15 Commentary
2 Samuel 12:15 graphically portrays the immediacy and severity of God's justice. The verse signifies the pivot from prophetic declaration to divine action. The phrase "the Lord struck" unequivocally states that the child's severe illness was a direct, intentional act of God, fulfilling Nathan's earlier pronouncement. This direct divine intervention was aimed at David, ensuring he deeply felt the pain of his actions by striking at a tender point in his life—the offspring born from his sin. The description of Bathsheba as "Uriah's wife" is a constant, stark reminder of the underlying transgression, ensuring that the source of the judgment remained clear: the unholy union conceived in sin and validated by murder. This event served not only as punishment but also as a public vindication of God's holy character, demonstrating that He would not tolerate such grave transgressions even from His anointed king, thereby preventing His name from being continually blasphemed among the nations. The child's suffering and death initiated the prophesied calamities upon David's household, a chain of events demonstrating that while sin may be forgiven in its eternal consequence, its temporal repercussions are often inevitable and deeply painful.