Lamb

 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.
2 Samuel 12:3 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2sa.12.3.ESV

Nathan's story tugs on the heart strings. The poor man in the parable is Uriah the Hittite. The lamb that was like a daughter to him was Bathsheba his wife.

David was the rich man who slaughtered the poor man's lamb. He didn't realise it at first when the story was told, and decreed that the rich man deserved death. Adultery and murder do demand death in God's law too.

Once Nathan bravely confronted king David, he admitted that he had sinned against God. He was the man, the rich man who metaphorically slaughtered poor Uriah's lamb Bathsheba. The child she was pregnant with died as a judgement upon David and Bathsheba.

David went on to pen Psalm 51 as a confession and repentance from sin. He didn't go into the gory details of his wrongdoing. Instead he admitted his crimes against God.

'God Almighty, we admit that we are sinners before Your holiness. Please wash us in the blood of Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen'

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