2 Samuel 12:16

2 Samuel 12:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.
• English Standard Version (ESV)David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
• New King James Version (NKJV)David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

Context of 2 Samuel 12:16

14But you did not respect the Lord when you did this bad thing. Because of that, your baby son will certainly die.’ 15Then Nathan went home. After that, the Lord caused the child of Uriah's wife to become very ill. David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food. 17His palace officers stood around him. They tried to help him to get up from the ground. But he refused and he would not eat anything with them. 18On the seventh day, the child died. David's officers were afraid to tell him. They thought, ‘Even when the child was alive, David refused to listen to us. So what will happen if we tell him that the child is dead? He might try to hurt himself.’

2 Samuel 12:16 word by word

וַיְבַקֵּ֥שׁ דָּוִ֛ד אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּעַ֣ד הַנָּ֑עַר וַיָּ֤צָם דָּוִד֙ צ֔וֹם וּבָ֥א וְלָ֖ן וְשָׁכַ֥ב בַּשָּׂק אָֽרְצָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• therefore besoughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• for the childנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• fastedצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
• fastedצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
• and went inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• and layשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• all nightלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 12:16

• 2 Samuel 12:22David replied, ‘While the child was still alive, I wept and I did not eat anything. I thought that perhaps the Lord would be kind to me. I thought that he might let the child live.
• Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble. Then I will rescue you, and you will praise me.’
• Isaiah 26:16Lord, when your people had trouble, they came to you for help. When you punished them, they turned to you and they prayed.
• Joel 2:12‘Even now,’ the Lord says, ‘return to me and put me first. Eat no food. Cry and be very sad.
• Jonah 3:9Then perhaps God may agree to forgive us. He may decide that he will not be angry with us. Then perhaps we will not all die.’
• Esther 4:16‘Tell all the Jews in Susa to meet together. Tell them to fast and to pray for me. They must not eat or drink for three days, during the day and the night. My female servants and I will also do that. After three days, I will go and speak to the king. I know that I will do that against the king's law. But if I must die because of that, I agree to die.’
• Psalms 69:10When I weep and I stop eating food, it causes people to insult me.
• Isaiah 22:12At that time, the Lord Almighty told you to be very sad and weep. He told you to cut all the hair off your heads and to wear rough clothes.
• Acts 9:9For three days, Saul could not see anything. During that time, he did not eat any food or drink anything.
• 2 Samuel 13:31The king was very upset. He stood up and he tore his clothes. Then he lay down on the ground. All his servants were standing around him. They had torn their clothes, too.
• Job 20:12He enjoys the wicked things that he does. They are like something sweet in his mouth.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 12:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16David - besought God for the child - How could he do so, after the solemn assurance that he had from God that the child should die? The justice of God absolutely required that the penalty of the law should be exacted; either the father or the son shall die. This could not be reversed.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The death of the infant child of one of the numerous harem of an Oriental monarch would in general be a matter of little moment to the father. The deep feeling shown by David on this occasion is both an indication of his affectionate and tender nature, and also a proof of the strength of his passion for Bath-sheba. He went into his most private chamber, his closet Matthew 6:6, and “lay upon the earth” 2 Samuel 13:31, rather “the ground,” meaning the floor…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. 1-31Chapter 12 expands on the final part of 2 Samuel 11:27.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 12:16

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Bereavement
• Children
• David
• Fasting
• Mourning
• Parents
• Seven

In the dictionaries

• David
• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Bathsheba
• Fast
• Fourfold
• Mourn
• Parable
• Samuel, Books of
• Solomon

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