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

21Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” 22And he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.” 24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

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
• he has diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• should I fastצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
• Canיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• I bringשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• him backשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• againעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• I am goingהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 12:23

• Genesis 37:35Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
• Job 30:23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house of meeting for all living.
• Luke 23:43And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
• Job 7:8The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.

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