2 Samuel 12:5 (KJV)

Passage

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:

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

2 Samuel 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

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:

2 Samuel 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

2 Samuel 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "david", "anger", "greatly", "kindled", "against", "said", "nathan", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "david" and "anger", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And there came a traveller unto the..." into verse 6's "And he shall restore the lamb fourfold...", so "david" and "anger" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "david" and "anger" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.