Font Size
2 Samuel 12:16-18
New English Translation
2 Samuel 12:16-18
New English Translation
16 Then David prayed to[a] God for the child and fasted.[b] He would even[c] go and spend the night lying on the ground. 17 The 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.
18 On 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[d] when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”[e]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 12:16 tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”
- 2 Samuel 12:16 tn Heb “and David fasted.”
- 2 Samuel 12:16 tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.
- 2 Samuel 12:18 tn Heb “to our voice.”
- 2 Samuel 12:18 tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!
2 Samuel 12:16-18
New International Version
2 Samuel 12:16-18
New International Version
16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying(A) 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,(B) and he would not eat any food with them.(C)
18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 12:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have in sackcloth.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.