2 Samuel 12:2 (DBY)

Passage

The rich had very many flocks and herds;

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:1 And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

2 Samuel 12:2 The rich had very many flocks and herds;

2 Samuel 12:3 but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and was nourishing; and it grew up with him, and together with his children: it ate of his morsel, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "very", "flocks", and "herds". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "very", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And Jehovah sent Nathan to David And..." into verse 3's "but the poor man had nothing at...", so "rich" and "very" 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 "rich" and "very" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.