2 Samuel 12:3-4

12:3 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. ¹  It used to ²  eat his food, ³  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ⁴  It was just like a daughter to him.

12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ⁵  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ⁶  the traveler who had come to visit him. ⁷  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁸  it for the man who had come to visit him.”

[12:3]  ¹ tn Heb “his sons.”

[12:3]  ² tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

[12:3]  ³ tn Heb “from his morsel.”

[12:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[12:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and prepared.”