¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck^(A) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying^(B) in sackcloth^[a] on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused,^(C) and he would not eat any food with them.^(D)