2 Samuel 12:5

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man,.... That had done this, taking it for a real fact: and he said to Nathan, [as] the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this [thing] shall surely

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: The man that hath done this thing shall surely die.

This seems to be more than the fact deserved, or than he had commission to inflict for it, . But it is observable, that David now, when he was most indulgent to himself, and to his own sin, was most severe to others; as appears by this passage and the following relation, , which was done in the time of David’ s impenitent continuance in his sin.

2 Samuel 12:5 And David’ s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, [As] the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this [thing] shall surely die: Ver. 5. And David’ s anger was greatly kindled against the man.] Little dreaming that himself was the man, till afterwards, and then it was, - "Yea, what indignation!" Men usually favour themselves too much when they are chancellors in their own cause, and measure all things by their own private interest; as David could allow himself another man’ s wife, and judge another to death for taking away a poor man’ s lamb. So Augustus caused Proclus to die for adultery, when himself was a great adulterer. Tiberius was the like: and yet he banished the adulteress two hundred miles out of the city, and expelled the adulterer out of Italy and Africa. How much better Zaleuchus the Locrensian, who made a law that the adulterer should loose both his eyes: and it so falling out that his son was taken in adultery, he, to satisfy the law, caused one of his son’ s eyes to be put out, and one of his own! And Saletus the Crotonian, who made a law that adulterers should be burned alive; and being himself detected of adultery, having by an oration in his own defence almost persuaded the people to have compassion toward him, he voluntarily leaped into the fire. But self-love is partial, and teacheth men to turn the glass to see their own faults lesser than they are, and other men’ s bigger; to hate and persecute that in others which they favour and foster in themselves: as it is noted of Crassus the Roman, that he hated the covetous, but not covetousness: and of Sulla - the like is storied of our Richard III - that he commanded others under great penalties to be virtuous and modest, when himself walked the clean contrary way. How easy is it to detest those evils in others, which we flatter in ourselves! Witness Judah in his dealing with his daughter-in-law Tamar. The Pope was angry with the French king for using moderation toward the Protestants, at the request of the Swiss, whose assistance he had used in his wars with Spain, A.D. 1557: he had forgotten that in the time of his own wars, the cardinals of the Inquisition, complaining that the Protestant Grisons, brought to his pay for the defence of Rome, used many scorns against the churches and images, his holiness did reprehend them, saying, they were angels sent by God for the custody of the city and of his person, and that he had a strong hope that God would convert them. This was Pope Paul IV. Shall surely die.] Our Henry I punished his courtiers’ thefts with death: and fornication with the loss of their eyes, and other parts peccant. The King of Persia punisheth theft and manslaughter so severely, that in an age a man shall not hear of the one or the other.

(5) Was greatly kindled.—David’s generous impulses had not been extinguished by his sin, nor his warm sense of justice; his naturally quick temper (1 Samuel 25:13; 1 Samuel 25:22; 1 Samuel 25:33) at once roused his indignation to the utmost.

Verse 5. The man - shall surely die] Literally בן מות ben maveth, "he is a son of death," a very bad man, and one who deserves to die. But the law did not sentence a sheep-stealer to death; let us hear it: If a man steal an ox or a sheep, he shall restore FIVE OXEN for an ox, and FOUR SHEEP for a sheep, Exodus 22:1; and hence David immediately says, He shall restore the lamb FOURFOLD.

5. shall surely die] Or, is worthy to die; lit. is a son of death. Cp. 1 Samuel 20:31; 1 Samuel 26:16.