2 Samuel 12:16

12:16 Then David prayed to ¹  God for the child and fasted. ²  He would even ³  go and spend the night lying on the ground.

2 Samuel 12:21

12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While ⁴  the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!”

[12:16]  ¹ tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”

[12:16]  ² tn Heb “and David fasted.”

[12:16]  ³ tn 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.

[12:21]  ⁴ tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bÿ’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.