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Saturday, July 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

2 Samuel 12:16

David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Bereavement;   Children;   David;   Fasting;   Mourning;   Parents;   Seven;   Thompson Chain Reference - Children;   David;   Family;   Fasting;   Fathers';   Home;   Love;   Parental;   Parents;   Paternal Love;   Prayer;   Religion;   Self-Indulgence-Self-Denial;   Worship;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflicted Saints;   Beds;   Diseases;   Fasting;   Parents;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Fasting;   Mourning;   Nathan;   Parable;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bathsheba;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Fast, Fasting;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bath-Sheba;   David;   Fast;   Mourn;   Holman Bible Dictionary - David;   Diseases;   Intercession;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon, Ammonites;   Child, Children;   Fasting;   Samuel, Books of;   Sin;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Nathan ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Fasting;   Nathan;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - David;   Mourning;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Fasting;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fast;   Nathan (1);   Samuel, Books of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bathsheba;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Fasting and Fast-Days;   Judge;   Repentance;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.
Hebrew Names Version
David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the eretz.
King James Version
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Lexham English Bible
David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground.
English Standard Version
David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
New Century Version
David prayed to God for the baby. David fasted and went into his house and stayed there, lying on the ground all night.
New English Translation
Then David prayed to God for the child and fasted. He would even go and spend the night lying on the ground.
Amplified Bible
David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
New American Standard Bible
David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Dauid therefore besought God for the childe, and fasted and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.
Legacy Standard Bible
David therefore sought God about the boy; and David fasted and went and spent the night lying on the ground.
Contemporary English Version
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.
Complete Jewish Bible
David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground.
Darby Translation
And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
Easy-to-Read Version
David prayed to God for the baby. David refused to eat or drink. He went into his house and stayed there and lay on the ground all night.
George Lamsa Translation
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
Good News Translation
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.
Literal Translation
And David sought God for the child. And David fasted a fast, and went in and stayed the night, and lay on the earth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dauid besoughte God for the childe, and fasted, and wente in, and laie all nighte vpon the earth.
American Standard Version
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Bible in Basic English
So David made prayer to God for the child; and he took no food day after day, and went in and, stretching himself out on the earth, was there all night.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Dauid therefore besought God for the childe, and fasted, and went in, & laye all night vpon the earth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and as often as he went in, he lay all night upon the earth.
King James Version (1611)
Dauid therfore besought God for the childe, and Dauid fasted, and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David enquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.
English Revised Version
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Dauid preiede the Lord for the litil child; and Dauid fastide bi fastyng, and entride asidis half, and lai on the erthe.
Young's Literal Translation
and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.
Update Bible Version
David therefore implored God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
Webster's Bible Translation
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
World English Bible
David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
New King James Version
David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
New Life Bible
David begged God to make the child well. He went without food and lay all night on the ground.
New Revised Standard
David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
David therefore earnestly sought God in behalf of the boy, - and David kept a fast, and used to go in and pass the night, and lie upon the ground.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And David besought the Lord for the child: and David kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the ground.
Revised Standard Version
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

Contextual Overview

15 After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah's wife. 16 David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. 17 The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. 18 Then on the seventh day the child died. David's advisers were afraid to tell him. "He wouldn't listen to reason while the child was ill," they said. "What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?" 19 When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20 Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord . After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate. 21 His advisers were amazed. "We don't understand you," they told him. "While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again." 22 David replied, "I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me." 24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

besought: 2 Samuel 12:22, Psalms 50:15, Isaiah 26:16, Joel 2:12-14, Jonah 3:9

fasted: Heb. fasted a fast, Esther 4:16, Psalms 69:10, Isaiah 22:12, Acts 9:9

lay all night: 2 Samuel 13:31, Job 20:12-14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 9:18 - I fell down Joshua 7:6 - fell 1 Samuel 1:8 - why weepest 1 Kings 18:42 - he cast himself Job 1:20 - fell Daniel 6:18 - and passed Joel 1:13 - lie Matthew 6:16 - when Mark 5:23 - besought John 11:31 - She goeth 1 Corinthians 2:15 - yet 2 Corinthians 12:8 - I besought

Cross-References

Genesis 12:13
So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you."
Genesis 12:14
And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai's beauty.
Genesis 12:15
When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace.
Genesis 13:2
(Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.)
Genesis 20:14
Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him.
Genesis 24:35
"And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.
Genesis 26:14
He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.
Genesis 32:5
and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.'"
Job 1:3
He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 42:12
So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

David therefore besought God for the child,.... Perhaps went into the tabernacle he had built for the ark, and prayed to the Lord to restore the child, and spare its life; for though the Lord had said it should die, he might hope that that was a conditional threatening, and that the Lord might be gracious and reverse it, 2 Samuel 12:22;

and David fasted: all that day:

and went in; to his own house from the house of God:

and lay all night upon the earth; would neither go into, nor lie upon a bed, but lay on the floor all night, weeping and praying for the child's life, and especially for its eternal welfare: he having through sin been the means of its coming into a sinful and afflicted state.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The 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 of his chamber as opposed to his couch.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 12:16. David - 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.


 
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