The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.
Parallel translations
- WEB The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them.
- KJV And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
- NASB The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David's household officials try to lift him from the ground where he lies fasting for his sick child, but he refuses and will not eat. It shows the depth of his grief and intercession before God.
Overview
After Nathan announces that the child born of David's sin with Bathsheba will die, David pleads for the child by lying on the ground in fasting and prayer. His refusal to be raised up or to eat bread reveals a king genuinely humbled and casting himself wholly upon God's mercy. This posture of earnest, embodied repentance models how believers may bring even the consequences of their sin honestly before the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 2 Sam 3:35All the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down.”
- 1 Sam 28:23But he refused, and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he listened to their voice. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 12:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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