2 Samuel 12:3
New International Version
but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

New Living Translation
The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.

English Standard Version
but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.

Berean Standard Bible
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.

New American Standard Bible
“But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nurtured; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie in his lap, And was like a daughter to him.

NASB 1995
“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 of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.

NASB 1977
“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 of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.

Legacy Standard Bible
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.

Amplified Bible
But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb Which he had purchased and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It ate his food, drank from his cup, it lay in his arms, And was like a daughter to him.

Christian Standard Bible
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meager food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.

American Standard Version
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 morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the poor man had nothing except only one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and she had lived with him and with his children as one. From his food she would eat and she was drinking from his cup, and she was sleeping on his chest, and she had become like a daughter to him

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But the poor man had only one little ewe lamb, which he had purchased, and preserved, and reared; an it grew up with himself and his children in common; it ate of his bread and drank of his cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

Contemporary English Version
but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the poor man had nothing at all but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and which had grown up in his house together with his children, eating of his bread, and drinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom: and it was unto him as a daughter.

English Revised Version
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 morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
but the poor man had only one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter.

Good News Translation
while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him.

International Standard Version
but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It used to share his food and drink from his own cup. It even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

JPS Tanakh 1917
but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared; and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

Literal Standard Version
but the poor one has nothing, except one little ewe-lamb which he has bought and keeps alive. And it grows up together with him and with his sons. It eats of his morsel, and it drinks from his cup, and it lies in his bosom, and it is as a daughter to him.

Majority Standard Bible
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

New American Bible
But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. Of what little he had she ate; from his own cup she drank; in his bosom she slept; she was like a daughter to him.

NET Bible
But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat his food, drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.

New Revised Standard Version
but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.

New Heart English Bible
but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the poor man had nothing save one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nourished: and it grew up together with him, and with his children: it fed of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

World English Bible
but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.

Young's Literal Translation
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;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Nathan Rebukes David
2The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him. 4Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”…

Cross References
2 Samuel 11:3
So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, "This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite."

2 Samuel 12:2
The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,

2 Samuel 12:4
Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for his guest."


Treasury of Scripture

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 to him as a daughter.

one little

2 Samuel 11:3
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Proverbs 5:18,19
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth…

meat [heb] morsel

Deuteronomy 13:6
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

Micah 7:5
Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Jump to Previous
Ate Bosom Bought Children Cup Daughter Drank Eat Ewe Ewe-Lamb Except Fed Food Grew Little Meat Morsel Nourished Poor Raised Reared Save Together
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Ate Bosom Bought Children Cup Daughter Drank Eat Ewe Ewe-Lamb Except Fed Food Grew Little Meat Morsel Nourished Poor Raised Reared Save Together
2 Samuel 12
1. Nathan's parable of the ewe lamb causes David to be his own judge.
7. David, reproved by Nathan, confesses his sin, and is pardoned
15. David mourns and prays for the child while it lives
24. Solomon is born, and named Jedidiah
26. David takes Rabbah, and tortures the people thereof














(3) It grew up together.--"All these circumstances are exquisitely contrived to heighten the pity of the hearer for the oppressed, and his indignation against the oppressor."--Speaker's Commentary.

Verse 3. - Was unto him as a daughter. The Orientals are excessively fond of pet animals, and, as the dog is with them unclean, its place is taken by fawns, kids, or lambs. The description, therefore, is not overcharged, for in many an English home the dog or cat takes its place as one of the family. The Revised Version preserves the tenderness of the original in translating "it did eat of his own morsel."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
but the poor
וְלָרָ֣שׁ (wə·lā·rāš)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7326: To be in want or poor

man had nothing
אֵֽין־ (’ên-)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

except
כִּי֩ (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

one
אַחַ֤ת (’a·ḥaṯ)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 259: United, one, first

small
קְטַנָּה֙ (qə·ṭan·nāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 6996: Small, young, unimportant

ewe lamb
כִּבְשָׂ֨ה (kiḇ·śāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3535: Ewe lamb

that
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

he had bought.
קָנָ֔ה (qā·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

He raised it,
וַיְחַיֶּ֕הָ (way·ḥay·ye·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

and it grew up
וַתִּגְדַּ֥ל (wat·tiḡ·dal)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1431: To grow up, become great

with him
עִמּ֛וֹ (‘im·mōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

and his children.
בָּנָ֖יו (bā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

It shared
יַחְדָּ֑ו (yaḥ·dāw)
Adverb
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly

his food
מִפִּתּ֨וֹ (mip·pit·tōw)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6595: Fragment, bit, morsel

and drank
תִשְׁתֶּה֙ (ṯiš·teh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

from his cup;
וּמִכֹּס֤וֹ (ū·mik·kō·sōw)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3563: A cup, a lot, some unclean bird, an owl

it slept
תִשְׁכָּ֔ב (ṯiš·kāḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7901: To lie down

in his arms
וּבְחֵיק֣וֹ (ū·ḇə·ḥê·qōw)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2436: The bosom

and was
וַתְּהִי־ (wat·tə·hî-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

like a daughter
כְּבַֽת׃ (kə·ḇaṯ)
Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

to him.
ל֖וֹ (lōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 0: 0


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OT History: 2 Samuel 12:3 But the poor man had nothing except (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 12:2
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