2 Samuel 12:15-16

12:15 Then Nathan went to his home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill. ¹  12:16 Then David prayed to ²  God for the child and fasted. ³  He would even ⁴  go and spend the night lying on the ground.

2 Samuel 12:19-20

12:19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he ⁵  realized that the child was dead. So David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “Yes, he’s dead.” 12:20 So 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.

2 Samuel 12:22-23

12:22 He replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ⁶  ‘Perhaps ⁷  the Lord will show pity and the child will live. 12:23 But 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!’”

[12:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and the Lord struck the child…and he was ill.” It is necessary to repeat “the child” in the translation to make clear who became ill, since “the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became very ill” could be understood to mean that David himself became ill.

[12:16]  ² tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”

[12:16]  ³ tn Heb “and David fasted.”

[12:16]  ⁴ 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.

[12:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[12:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[12:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “Who knows?”