1. The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor.
2. The rich man had many cattle and sheep,
3. 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 with 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.
4. One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to prepare a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked a meal for his guest.”
5. David was very angry with the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die!
6. For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”