^12:16Then David prayed to²⁸ God for the child and fasted.²⁹ He would even³⁰ go and spend the night lying on the ground. ^12:17The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.

^12:18On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us³¹ when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”³²

^12:19When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he³³ realized that the child was dead. So David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “Yes, he’s dead.” ^12:20So David got up from the ground, bathed, put on oil, and changed his clothes. He went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then, when he entered his palace, he requested that food be brought to him, and he ate.

^12:21His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While³⁴ the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!” ^12:22He replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I thought,³⁵ ‘Perhaps³⁶ the Lord will show pity and the child will live. ^12:23But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’ ”

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Footnotes

28 Heb “sought” or “searched for.”
29 Heb “and David fasted.”
30 The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.
31 Heb “to our voice.”
32 Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!
33 Heb “David.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
34 For the בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bé’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the , and the .
35 Heb “said.”
36 Heb “Who knows?”