2 Samuel 12:16–23

¹⁶David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground. ¹⁷The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he was not willing, and he did not eat any food with them. ¹⁸It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, when the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do something evil.” ¹⁹When David saw that his servants were whispering together, he realized that the child was dead. Then David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰David stood up from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing. Then he went to the house of Yahweh and worshiped, and he went to his own house. He asked, so they served him food, and he ate. ²¹Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child has died, you get up and eat food!” ²²He said, “When the child was still alive, I fasted and I wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? Yahweh may have mercy on me that the child will live.’ ²³But now he is dead. Why should I be fasting? Am I able to return him again? I am going to him, but he cannot return to me.”