12:1 So the Lord sent Nathan 1 to David. When he came to David, 2 Nathan 3 said, 4 “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. 5 It used to 6 eat his food, 7 drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. 8 It was just like a daughter to him.
12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, 9 he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed 10 the traveler who had come to visit him. 11 Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked 12 it for the man who had come to visit him.”
1 tc A few medieval Hebrew
2 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”
5 tn Heb “his sons.”
6 tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.
7 tn Heb “from his morsel.”
8 tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”
9 tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”
11 tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
12 tn Heb “and prepared.”