2 Samuel 12:23

2 Samuel 12:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
• New International Version (NIV)But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
• New King James Version (NKJV)But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

Context of 2 Samuel 12:23

21“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.” 22David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child 25and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.

2 Samuel 12:23 word by word

וְעַתָּ֣ה׀ מֵ֗ת לָ֤מָּה זֶּה֙ אֲנִ֣י צָ֔ם הַאוּכַ֥ל לַהֲשִׁיב֖וֹ ע֑וֹד אֲנִי֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ אֵלָ֔יו וְה֖וּא לֹֽא־יָשׁ֥וּב אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear

• But nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• that he is deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• whyזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• should Iאֲנִי'ănîy · IH589
• fastצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
• Canיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• I bring him backשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• againעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• to himאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• but heהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• will notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 12:23

• Genesis 37:35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
• Job 30:23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
• Luke 23:43And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
• Job 7:8The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 12:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me - It is not clear whether David by this expressed his faith in the immortality of the soul; going to him may only mean, I also shall die, and be gathered to my fathers, as he is. But whether David expressed this or not, we know that the thing is true; and it is one of the most solid grounds of consolation to surviving friends that they shall by and by be joined to them in a state of conscious existence…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 David now penned the 51st Psalm, in which, though he had been assured that his sin was pardoned, he prays earnestly for pardon, and greatly laments his sin. He was willing to bear the shame of it, to have it ever before him, to be continually upbraided with it. God gives us leave to be earnest with him in prayer for particular blessings, from trust in his power and general mercy, though we have no particular promise to build upon. David…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23Can I bring him back again? I will go to him: The finality of his son’s death forced David to face his own mortality. At the same time, his words express confidence that life continues after death and that he would one day join his son.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2315-23. the Lord struck the child ... and it was very sick--The first visible chastisement inflicted on David appeared on the person of that child which was the evidence and monument of his guilt. His domestics were surprised at his conduct, and in explanation of its singularity, it is necessary to remark that the custom in the East is to leave the nearest relative of a deceased person to the full and undisturbed indulgence of his grief, till on the third…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 12:23

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Bereavement
• David
• Death
• Immortality
• Parents
• Prayer
• Resignation

In the dictionaries

• David
• Fast
• Fourfold
• Parable
• Samuel, Books of
• Solomon
• Uriah
• Bible, the
• Fast; Fasting
• Gesture

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings