2 Samuel 12:18
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17 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.
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”
- KJV
- And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
- WEB
- On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants 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 didn’t listen to our voice. How will he then harm himself if we tell him that the child is dead?”
- ASV
- And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead!
- DARBY
- And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.
- BLB
- And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. And how can we tell him the child is dead? He may do some harm.”
- ÅB
- På den syvende dag døde barnet; men Davids tjenere torde ikke fortelle ham at barnet var død; de tenkte: Mens barnet var i live, talte vi til ham, men han hørte ikke på oss; hvordan kan vi da nå si til ham at barnet er død? Han kunne gjøre en ulykke på seg.
- OTB
- Så skjedde det på den syvende dagen at barnet døde. Men Davids tjenere var redde for å fortelle ham at barnet var dødt, for de sa, "Se, mens barnet ennå levde, talte vi til ham og han lyttet ikke til vår stemme; hvordan kan vi da fortelle ham at barnet er dødt, siden han kanskje vil skade seg selv?"
- B1930
- På den syvende dag døde barnet; men Davids tjenere torde ikke fortelle ham at barnet var død; de tenkte: Mens barnet var i live, talte vi til ham, men han hørte ikke på oss; hvorledes kan vi da nu si til ham at barnet er død? Han kunde gjøre en ulykke på sig.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Numbers 20:15
How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
Read in context