2 Samuel 12:11 (WEB)

Passage

“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:9 Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

2 Samuel 12:10 Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’

2 Samuel 12:11 “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

2 Samuel 12:12 For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’”

2 Samuel 12:13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "says", "behold", "raise", "evil", "against", "house", and "take". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "says", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Now therefore the sword will never depart..." into verse 12's "For you did this secretly but I...", so "yahweh" and "says" 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 "yahweh" and "says" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.