And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
2 Samuel 12:2 The rich hath flocks and herds very many;
2 Samuel 12:3 And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;
2 Samuel 12:4 And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
2 Samuel 12:5 And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death <FI>is<Fi> the man who is doing this,
2 Samuel 12:6 and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'
The verse centers on "cometh", "traveller", "rich", "spareth", "take", "flock", "herd", and "prepare". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cometh" and "traveller", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And the poor one hath nothing Except..." into verse 5's "And the anger of David burneth against...", so "cometh" and "traveller" 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 "cometh" and "traveller" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.