2 Samuel 12:15-18
New English Translation
15 Then Nathan went to his home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill.[a] 16 Then David prayed to[b] God for the child and fasted.[c] He would even[d] 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[e] when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 12:15 tn Heb “and the Lord struck the child…and he was ill.” It is necessary to repeat “the child” in the translation to make clear who became ill, since “the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became very ill” could be understood to mean that David himself became ill.
- 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!
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