2 Samuel 12:14–22

¹⁴But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for^a the Lord,^h the son born to you will die.”

¹⁵After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struckⁱ the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying^j in sackcloth^b on the ground. ¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused,^k and he would not eat any food with them.^l

¹⁸On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

¹⁹David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

²⁰Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,^m put on lotions and changed his clothes,ⁿ he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

²¹His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept,^o but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

²²He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows?^p The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’^q