2 Samuel 12:7-23

7Nathan then said to David, “1You yourself are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘2It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8I also gave you 3your master’s house and put your master’s wives 4into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you 5many more things like these! 9Why 6have you despised the word of the Lord, by doing evil in His sight? 7You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you 8have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10Now then, 9the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; 10I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in 11broad daylight. 12Indeed, 12you did it secretly, but 13I will do this thing before all Israel, and 14in open daylight.’” 13Then David said to Nathan, “15I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has 16allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die. 14However, since by this deed you have 17shown utter disrespect for the 18Lord, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.” 15Then Nathan went to his house.

Later the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s 19widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. 16David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David 20fasted and went and 21lay all night on the ground. 1722The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. 18Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to 23us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?” 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20So David got up from the ground, 24washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and 25worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

21Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was 26alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” 22And he said, “While the child was still alive, 27I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘28Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ 23But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? 29I am going to him, but 30he will not return to me.”