Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child was dead, you rose up and ate bread.”
Parallel Translations
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Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child was dead, you rose up and ate bread.”
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Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
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Then said his servants unto him: 'What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.'
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 12:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (6 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As they which considered not that God granteth many…
As they which considered not that God granteth many things to the sobs and tears of the faithful.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What…
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing [is] this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, [while it was] alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
Ver. 21. What thing is this that thou hast done?] Quam absurda et insolens? The saints are "for signs and for wonders in Israel"; {Isa 8:18} their rations also - because they keep a constant counter notion to the corrupt customs of others - seem strange and unreasonable, {1Pe 4:4} though they need not.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, while the child was yet alive,....…
And he said, while the child was yet alive,.... And so there was hope it might be continued:
I fasted and wept; or sought the Lord by prayer, and fasting, and weeping, that the threatening might not take place, that the child's life might be spared:
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for I said; within himself, thus he reasoned in his own mind:
who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? and in hope of this he kept praying, fasting, and weeping; he could not tell but God might repent of the evil he had threatened, as in some cases he has done; see Joe 2:13. Abarbinel thinks that David fasted and wept to hide this matter from his wife, and his servants, and did not let them know that this was in his punishment, that the child should die.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. What thing is this that thou hast done…
21. What thing is this that thou hast done — The bereaved are accustomed to fast and weep after the death of their relative; but David does his mourning before the death of the child, and feasts immediately after. “The practice of the East is, to leave a relation of the deceased person to weep and mourn, till, on the third or fourth day at furthest, the relations and friends go to see him, cause him to eat, lead him to a bath, and cause him to put on new vestments, he having before thrown himself on the ground. The extremity of David’s sorrow for the child’s illness, and his not observing the common forms of grief afterwards, was what surprised his servants.” — Harmer’s Observations.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
These verses contain rhetorical questions that emphasize that David realizes that Yahweh has allowed this to happen.
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Who knows whether or not Yahweh will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
David asked this rhetorical question to empathize that no one knew if Yahweh would let the child live. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "No one knows whether or not Yahweh will be gracious to me so that the child may live." (See: Rhetorical Question)
But now he is dead, so why should I fast?
David asks this rhetorical question to empathize that he no longer has a reason to fast. This can be written as a statement. AT: "Now that he is dead it would be of no use to fast any longer." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Can I bring him back again?
David asks this rhetorical question to empathize that the boy cannot come back to life. This can be written as a statement. AT: "I cannot bring him back to life." (See: Rhetorical Question)
I will go to him
David implies that he will go to where his child is when he dies. AT: "When I die I will go to where he is" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
fast
Yahweh
grace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:21-23 David grieved before his son’s death, hoping to…
12:21-23 David grieved before his son’s death, hoping to ward off punishment.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.