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

14Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.” 15Then Nathan went to his home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill. Then David prayed to God for the child and fasted. He would even go and spend the night lying on the ground. 17The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them. 18On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”

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 12:22He replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Perhaps the Lord will show pity and the child will live.
• Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble! I will deliver you, and you will honor me!”
• Isaiah 26:16O Lord, in distress they looked for you; they uttered incantations because of your discipline.
• Joel 2:12“Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart – with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!”
• Jonah 3:9Who knows? Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we might not die.”
• Esther 4:16“Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. If I perish, I perish!”
• Psalms 69:10I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.
• Isaiah 22:12At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.
• Acts 9:9For three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.
• 2 Samuel 13:31Then the king stood up and tore his garments and lay down on the ground. All his servants were standing there with torn garments as well.
• Job 20:12“If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

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