A carefully constructed story reaches its critical moment, bringing a ruler to unknowingly pass a severe judgment upon himself. The prophet brings his parable to its climax, presenting the king of Israel with a scenario of complete helplessness. In his tale, the prophet describes being entrusted with a prisoner, only to become distracted by his daily work and personal affairs, turning his attention in every direction [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. As a result of this brief lapse in focus, the captive simply slipped away and escaped [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. The man in the story expresses deep distress. He freely admits that he failed to perform his duty properly and does not deny the strict conditions he originally agreed to. However, he is terrified of losing his life and completely unable to pay the massive financial penalty demanded of him [ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The king responds with absolute certainty, telling the man that he has finalized and sealed his own sentence [רד״ק, מצודת ציון]. He clarifies that the moment the guard willingly accepted the mission along with its conditions, he brought the punishment upon himself. He must now face the consequences of his negligence, either by giving his own life in place of the escaped captive or by paying the heavy fine of silver [רש״י, רלב״ג, רד״ק, מצודת דוד].
The way the king phrases his response is highly significant. By firmly affirming the guard's guilt, he declares that this outcome is the true and just law, rather than just an arbitrary penalty that the man happened to accept. This specific admission reveals exactly why the prophet needed to use a parable in the first place. His goal was to maneuver the king into stating out loud that this absolute judgment is perfectly fair and correct [חומת אנך]. Blind to the fact that the story is aimed directly at him, the king unwittingly seals his own fate. The parable mirrors the actual reality of their situation: because the prophet was occupied with various other matters, he failed to warn the king, allowing the enemy to vanish [מלבי״ם].