2 Samuel 12:13-20

English Standard Version

^13 (A)David said to Nathan, ^(B)“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, ^(C)“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly ^(D)scorned the Lord,^[a] the child who is born to you shall die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house.

David's Child Dies

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. ¹⁶ David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David ^(E)fasted and went in ^(F)and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ Then David arose from the earth ^(G)and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord ^(H)and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.