2 Samuel 12:2 (LSB)

Passage

The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

Nearby Context

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

2 Samuel 12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

2 Samuel 12:3 But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat his morsel of bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.

2 Samuel 12:4 Now a visitor came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the traveler who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

Study Lenses

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

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