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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>2 Samuel 12:16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/12-16.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/6/10_2Sa_12_16.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="2 Samuel 12:16 - David's Loss and Repentance" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="David pleaded with God for the boy. 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He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/2_samuel/12.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/2_samuel/12.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/2_samuel/12.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/2_samuel/12.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/2_samuel/12.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/2_samuel/12.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/2_samuel/12.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/2_samuel/12.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/2_samuel/12.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />David therefore sought God about the boy; and David fasted and went and spent the night lying on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/2_samuel/12.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/2_samuel/12.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/2_samuel/12.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/2_samuel/12.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/2_samuel/12.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />So David went without eating to show his sorrow, and he begged God to make the boy well. David would not sleep on his bed, but spent each night lying on the floor. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/2_samuel/12.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/2_samuel/12.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />David pleaded with God for the child; he fasted and lay on the ground all night.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/2_samuel/12.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/2_samuel/12.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />David begged God on behalf of the youngster. He fasted, went inside, and spent the night lying on the ground. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/2_samuel/12.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Then David prayed to God for the child and fasted. He would even go and spend the night lying on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/2_samuel/12.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Then David sought from God on behalf of the child. And David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/2_samuel/12.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.<div class="vheading2"><b>Majority Text Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/2_samuel/12.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/2_samuel/12.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/2_samuel/12.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />and David seeks God for the youth, and David keeps a fast, and has gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/2_samuel/12.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/2_samuel/12.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />And David will seek God for the boy, and fast a fast; and he came and passed the night and lay upon the earth.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/2_samuel/12.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />And David besought the Lord for the child: and David kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the ground. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/2_samuel/12.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/2_samuel/12.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />David pleaded with God on behalf of the child. He kept a total fast, and spent the night lying on the ground clothed in sackcloth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/2_samuel/12.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/2_samuel/12.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/2_samuel/12.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And David begged from God for the sake of the boy, and David fasted a fast and spent the night in it and he lay on the ground<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/2_samuel/12.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and as often as he went in, he lay all night upon the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/2_samuel/12.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />And David enquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/2_samuel/12-16.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_0ajZHUzMKw?start=3016" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/2_samuel/12.htm">David's Loss and Repentance</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">15</span>After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. <span class="reftext">16</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/1732.htm" title="1732: dā·wiḏ (N-proper-ms) -- Perhaps beloved one, a son of Jesse. Rarely; Daviyd; from the same as dowd; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse.">David</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/1245.htm" title="1245: way·ḇaq·qêš (Conj-w:: V-Piel-ConsecImperf-3ms) -- To seek. A primitive root; to search out; by implication, to strive after.">pleaded</a> <a href="/hebrew/430.htm" title="430: hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm (Art:: N-mp) -- Plural of 'elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God">with God</a> <a href="/hebrew/1157.htm" title="1157: bə·‘aḏ (Prep) -- From ad with prepositional prefix; in up to or over against; generally at, beside, among, behind, for, etc.">for</a> <a href="/hebrew/5288.htm" title="5288: han·nā·‘ar (Art:: N-ms) -- A boy, lad, youth, retainer. From na'ar; a boy, from the age of infancy to adolescence; by implication, a servant; also, a girl.">the boy.</a> <a href="/hebrew/1732.htm" title="1732: dā·wiḏ (N-proper-ms) -- Perhaps beloved one, a son of Jesse. Rarely; Daviyd; from the same as dowd; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse.">He</a> <a href="/hebrew/6684.htm" title="6684: way·yā·ṣām (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms) -- To abstain from food, fast. A primitive root; to cover over, i.e. To fast.">fasted</a> <a href="/hebrew/6685.htm" title="6685: ṣō·wm (N-ms) -- Fasting, a fast. Or tsom; from from tsuwm; a fast."></a> <a href="/hebrew/935.htm" title="935: ū·ḇā (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConjPerf-3ms) -- To come in, come, go in, go. A primitive root; to go or come.">and went into his house</a> <a href="/hebrew/3885.htm" title="3885: wə·lān (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConjPerf-3ms) -- Or liyn; a primitive root; to stop; by implication, to stay permanently; hence to be obstinate.">and spent the night</a> <a href="/hebrew/7901.htm" title="7901: wə·šā·ḵaḇ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConjPerf-3ms) -- To lie down. A primitive root; to lie down.">lying in sackcloth</a> <a href="/hebrew/776.htm" title="776: ’ā·rə·ṣāh (N-fs:: 3fs) -- Earth, land. From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth.">on the ground.</a> </span><span class="reftext">17</span>The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/35-13.htm">Psalm 35:13</a></span><br />Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jonah/3-5.htm">Jonah 3:5-10</a></span><br />And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. / When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. / Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/17-21.htm">Matthew 17:21</a></span><br />But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/joel/2-12.htm">Joel 2:12-14</a></span><br />“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” / So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. / Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/mark/9-29.htm">Mark 9:29</a></span><br />Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/esther/4-16.htm">Esther 4:16</a></span><br />“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/9-9.htm">Acts 9:9</a></span><br />For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/nehemiah/1-4.htm">Nehemiah 1:4</a></span><br />When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/daniel/9-3.htm">Daniel 9:3</a></span><br />So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/6-16.htm">Matthew 6:16-18</a></span><br />When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. / But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, / so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezra/8-21.htm">Ezra 8:21-23</a></span><br />And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. / For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” / So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_kings/21-27.htm">1 Kings 21:27-29</a></span><br />When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly. / Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: / “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity during his days, but I will bring it upon his house in the days of his son.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/2-37.htm">Luke 2:37</a></span><br />and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/58-3.htm">Isaiah 58:3-9</a></span><br />“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. / You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high. / Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD? ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/13-2.htm">Acts 13:2-3</a></span><br />While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” / And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">David therefore sought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.</p><p class="hdg">besought</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_samuel/12-22.htm">2 Samuel 12:22</a></b></br> And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell <i>whether</i> GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/50-15.htm">Psalm 50:15</a></b></br> And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/26-16.htm">Isaiah 26:16</a></b></br> LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer <i>when</i> thy chastening <i>was</i> upon them.</p><p class="hdg">fasted [heb] fasted a fast</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/esther/4-16.htm">Esther 4:16</a></b></br> Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which <i>is</i> not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/69-10.htm">Psalm 69:10</a></b></br> When I wept, <i>and chastened</i> my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/22-12.htm">Isaiah 22:12</a></b></br> And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:</p><p class="hdg">lay all night</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_samuel/13-31.htm">2 Samuel 13:31</a></b></br> Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/20-12.htm">Job 20:12-14</a></b></br> Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, <i>though</i> he hide it under his tongue; … </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/exodus/32-11.htm">Begged</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/3-23.htm">Besought</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-15.htm">Child</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-15.htm">David</a> <a href="/2_samuel/7-23.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/2_samuel/1-12.htm">Fast</a> <a href="/2_samuel/1-12.htm">Fasted</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-3.htm">Food</a> <a href="/2_samuel/8-2.htm">Ground</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-15.htm">House</a> <a href="/2_samuel/11-7.htm">Inquired</a> <a href="/1_samuel/16-11.htm">Keepeth</a> <a href="/judges/21-11.htm">Lain</a> <a href="/2_samuel/11-4.htm">Lay</a> <a href="/2_samuel/7-4.htm">Night</a> <a href="/1_samuel/30-12.htm">Nights</a> <a href="/1_samuel/18-30.htm">Often</a> <a href="/1_samuel/25-39.htm">Pleaded</a> <a href="/2_samuel/7-27.htm">Prayer</a> <a href="/1_samuel/24-9.htm">Seeketh</a> <a href="/1_samuel/9-7.htm">Spent</a> <a href="/2_samuel/1-14.htm">Stretching</a> <a href="/2_samuel/1-13.htm">Youth</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/2_kings/1-13.htm">Begged</a> <a href="/1_kings/13-6.htm">Besought</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-18.htm">Child</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-18.htm">David</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-17.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-21.htm">Fast</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-21.htm">Fasted</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-17.htm">Food</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-17.htm">Ground</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-17.htm">House</a> <a href="/2_samuel/16-23.htm">Inquired</a> <a href="/2_kings/18-6.htm">Keepeth</a> <a href="/1_kings/11-21.htm">Lain</a> <a href="/2_samuel/12-24.htm">Lay</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-1.htm">Night</a> <a href="/1_kings/19-8.htm">Nights</a> <a href="/2_samuel/20-18.htm">Often</a> <a href="/jeremiah/15-11.htm">Pleaded</a> <a href="/2_samuel/21-14.htm">Prayer</a> <a href="/2_samuel/16-11.htm">Seeketh</a> <a href="/1_kings/5-14.htm">Spent</a> <a href="/2_samuel/13-31.htm">Stretching</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-18.htm">Youth</a><div class="vheading2">2 Samuel 12</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/2_samuel/12-1.htm">Nathan's parable of the ewe lamb causes David to be his own judge.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">7. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/2_samuel/12-7.htm">David, reproved by Nathan, confesses his sin, and is pardoned</a></span><br><span class="reftext">15. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/2_samuel/12-15.htm">David mourns and prays for the child while it lives</a></span><br><span class="reftext">24. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/2_samuel/12-24.htm">Solomon is born, and named Jedidiah</a></span><br><span class="reftext">26. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/2_samuel/12-26.htm">David takes Rabbah, and tortures the people thereof</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/2_samuel/12.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/2_samuel/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/2_samuel/12.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>David pleaded with God for the boy.</b><br>David's plea to God reflects his deep remorse and desperation following Nathan's prophecy of judgment due to his sin with Bathsheba. This act of pleading is consistent with the biblical tradition of intercession, where individuals seek God's mercy on behalf of others. David's actions echo those of other biblical figures like Moses and Abraham, who also interceded for others. The boy in question is the child born to David and Bathsheba, whose life was threatened as a consequence of David's sin. This moment highlights the personal and communal impact of sin, as well as the hope for divine mercy.<p><b>He fasted</b><br>Fasting in the biblical context is often associated with mourning, repentance, and seeking God's favor. It is a physical expression of humility and dependence on God. In the Old Testament, fasting is seen in times of crisis or when seeking divine intervention, as in the case of Esther or the people of Nineveh. David's fasting signifies his earnestness in seeking God's forgiveness and intervention for the child's life. It is a spiritual discipline that underscores the seriousness of the situation and David's sincere repentance.<p><b>and went into his house</b><br>David's retreat into his house signifies a withdrawal from public life to focus on prayer and supplication. The house, in this context, serves as a private sanctuary where David can express his grief and seek God without distraction. This act of seclusion is reminiscent of Jesus' teaching in the New Testament about praying in private, emphasizing sincerity and personal connection with God over public display.<p><b>and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.</b><br>Sackcloth is a coarse material traditionally worn as a sign of mourning and repentance. Lying on the ground further emphasizes David's humility and contrition. This posture of submission is seen throughout scripture, where individuals humble themselves before God in times of distress or repentance, such as Job or the people of Israel during times of national crisis. The use of sackcloth and lying on the ground symbolizes David's acknowledgment of his sin and his total dependence on God's mercy. This act foreshadows the ultimate humility and submission of Jesus Christ, who, though sinless, took on the sins of humanity.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/d/david.htm">David</a></b><br>The King of Israel, a man after God's own heart, who is in deep distress over the illness of his child.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>The sovereign Lord to whom David pleads for mercy and healing for his child.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_child.htm">The Child</a></b><br>The son born to David and Bathsheba, who becomes ill as a consequence of David's sin.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/f/fasting_and_prayer.htm">Fasting and Prayer</a></b><br>David's response to the child's illness, demonstrating his repentance and dependence on God.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_house.htm">The House</a></b><br>The place where David isolates himself to pray and fast, showing his humility and earnestness in seeking God's intervention.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_power_of_prayer_and_fasting.htm">The Power of Prayer and Fasting</a></b><br>David's actions remind us of the importance of earnest prayer and fasting in seeking God's intervention in dire situations.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/r/repentance_and_humility.htm">Repentance and Humility</a></b><br>David's posture of lying on the ground signifies his humility and repentance, teaching us the importance of a contrite heart before God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_sovereignty_and_mercy.htm">God's Sovereignty and Mercy</a></b><br>While David pleads for his child's life, the outcome is ultimately in God's hands, reminding us to trust in His sovereign will.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/consequences_of_sin.htm">Consequences of Sin</a></b><br>David's situation illustrates that sin has consequences, but it also shows the possibility of restoration through repentance.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/s/seeking_god_in_crisis.htm">Seeking God in Crisis</a></b><br>David's immediate turn to God in a time of crisis serves as a model for us to seek divine help and guidance in our own times of trouble.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_2_samuel_12.htm">Top 10 Lessons from 2 Samuel 12</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_esther_4_16's_fast_conflict_historically.htm">Does the three-day fast in Esther 4:16 conflict with known historical or cultural practices of the time? </a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_ramadan_signify.htm">What does Ramadan signify?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/where_is_malta_mentioned_in_the_bible.htm">Who was Ahithophel in the Bible?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_reconcile_child's_death_with_god's_love.htm">In 2 Samuel 12:15–23, how can the moral or spiritual purpose of the child’s death be reconciled with the idea of a loving and merciful God? </a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/2_samuel/12.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(16) <span class= "bld">Besought God for the child.</span>--It can hardly be necessary to say that this does not imply any want of submissiveness to God's will on David's part, nor an inordinate love for the child of his guilt. "In the case of a man whose penitence was so earnest and so deep, the prayer for the preservation of his child must have sprung from some other source than excessive love of any created object. His great desire was to avert the stroke as a sign of the wrath of God, in the hope that he might be able to discern, in the preservation of the child, a proof of Divine favour consequent upon the restoration of his fellowship with God. But when the child was dead, he humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, and rested satisfied with His grace, without giving himself up to fruitless pain" (O. von Gerlach, quoted by Keil). Yet David's deep love for the child is not to be overlooked altogether.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/2_samuel/12.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">David... went in.</span> He went, not into the sanctuary, which he did not enter until after the child's death, but into some private room in his own house. There he remained, passing his nights stretched on the ground, and fasting until the seventh day. His fasting does not imply that he took no food during this long interval, but that he abstained from the royal table, and ate so much only as was necessary to maintain life. Now, what was the meaning of this privacy and abstinence? Evidently it was David's acknowledgment, before all his subjects, of his iniquity, and of his sorrow for it. The sickness of the child followed immediately upon Nathan's visit, and we may feel sure that news of his rebuke, and of all that passed between him and the king, ran quickly throughout Jerusalem. And David at once takes the position of a condemned criminal, and humbles himself with that thoroughness which forms so noble a part of his character. Grieved as he was at the child's sickness, and at the mother's sorrow, yet his grief was mainly for his sin; and he was willing that all should know how intense was his shame and self-reproach. And even when the most honourable of the rulers of his household (<a href="/genesis/24-2.htm">Genesis 24:2</a>), or, as Ewald thinks, his uncles and elder brethren, came to comfort him, he persists in maintaining an attitude of heart stricken penitence. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/2_samuel/12-16.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">David</span><br /><span class="heb">דָּוִ֛ד</span> <span class="translit">(dā·wiḏ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1732.htm">Strong's 1732: </a> </span><span class="str2">David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse</span><br /><br /><span class="word">pleaded</span><br /><span class="heb">וַיְבַקֵּ֥שׁ</span> <span class="translit">(way·ḇaq·qêš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1245.htm">Strong's 1245: </a> </span><span class="str2">To search out, to strive after</span><br /><br /><span class="word">with God</span><br /><span class="heb">הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים</span> <span class="translit">(hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_430.htm">Strong's 430: </a> </span><span class="str2">gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative</span><br /><br /><span class="word">for</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּעַ֣ד</span> <span class="translit">(bə·‘aḏ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1157.htm">Strong's 1157: </a> </span><span class="str2">In up to, over against, at, beside, among, behind, for</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the boy.</span><br /><span class="heb">הַנָּ֑עַר</span> <span class="translit">(han·nā·‘ar)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5288.htm">Strong's 5288: </a> </span><span class="str2">A boy, lad, youth, retainer</span><br /><br /><span class="word">He</span><br /><span class="heb">דָּוִד֙</span> <span class="translit">(dā·wiḏ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1732.htm">Strong's 1732: </a> </span><span class="str2">David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse</span><br /><br /><span class="word">fasted</span><br /><span class="heb">וַיָּ֤צָם</span> <span class="translit">(way·yā·ṣām)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6684.htm">Strong's 6684: </a> </span><span class="str2">To abstain from food, fast</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and went into his house</span><br /><span class="heb">וּבָ֥א</span> <span class="translit">(ū·ḇā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_935.htm">Strong's 935: </a> </span><span class="str2">To come in, come, go in, go</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and spent the night</span><br /><span class="heb">וְלָ֖ן</span> <span class="translit">(wə·lān)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3885.htm">Strong's 3885: </a> </span><span class="str2">To stop, to stay permanently, to be obstinate</span><br /><br /><span class="word">lying [in sackcloth]</span><br /><span class="heb">וְשָׁכַ֥ב</span> <span class="translit">(wə·šā·ḵaḇ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7901.htm">Strong's 7901: </a> </span><span class="str2">To lie down</span><br /><br /><span class="word">on the ground.</span><br /><span class="heb">אָֽרְצָה׃</span> <span class="translit">(’ā·rə·ṣāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_776.htm">Strong's 776: </a> </span><span class="str2">Earth, land</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/2_samuel/12-16.htm">2 Samuel 12:16 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/2_samuel/12-16.htm">OT History: 2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore begged God for the child (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/2_samuel/12-15.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="2 Samuel 12:15"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="2 Samuel 12:15" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/2_samuel/12-17.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="2 Samuel 12:17"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="2 Samuel 12:17" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>