2 Samuel 12:15-18 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-25

Nathan, having delivered his message, staid not at court, but went home, probably to pray for David, to whom he had been preaching. God, in making use of him as an instrument to bring David to repentance, and as the herald both of mercy and judgment, put an honour upon the ministry, and magnified his word above all his name. David named one of his sons by Bath-sheba Nathan, in honour of this prophet (1 Chron. 3:5), and it was that son of whom Christ, the great prophet, lineally descended, Luke... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15

And Nathan departed unto his house ,.... His own house, which probably was in the city of Jerusalem, having delivered his message, and brought David to a sense of his sin, and declared to him from the Lord the forgiveness of it; yet for the honour of religion, and the stopping of the mouths of blasphemers, the death of the child is threatened and foretold, and then Nathan took his leave of him, having nothing more from the Lord to say to him: and the Lord struck the child that Uriah's... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:17

And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth ,.... To persuade him to rise up, and sit upon a seat, and go to bed, after having taken some food; these were some of the chief officers at court, and had the management of the affairs of his household: but he would not ; they could not persuade him to it: neither did he eat bread with them ; that evening, as he had used to do; they being the princes of his court, who were wont to sit at table with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:18

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died ,.... Not the seventh day from its being taken ill, but from its birth; for it cannot be thought that David should fast seven days: and the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead ; lest he should be overwhelmed with too much sorrow: for they said, behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him ; to rise from the ground, and eat food: and he would not hearken unto our voice ; we could not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-23

( THE PALACE AND THE TABERNACLE .) David's behaviour in affliction. In one of the chambers of David's palace his little child lies smitten with a fatal malady. In another the king, divested of his royal robes and clothed in sackcloth, prostrates himself in profound sorrow and abasement. He prays, weeps, fasts, and lies all night upon the ground. His oldest and most confidential servants endeavour to comfort him, and beseech him to take food, in vain. At length the blow falls;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-31

The facts are: 1 . The child born to David becoming very sick, he entreats God for its life by prayer and fasting. 2 . He persists in refusing the consolations which the elders of his household offer him. 3 . The child dying on the seventh day and David observing the whisperings of his servants, at once ascertains by direct inquiry the certainty of it. 4 . His servants noticing that, on ascertaining the fact of the child's death, he lays aside the tokens of grief and resumes... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

David … went in. He went, not into the sanctuary, which he did not enter until after the child's death, but into some private room in his own house. There he remained, passing his nights stretched on the ground, and fasting until the seventh day. His fasting does not imply that he took no food during this long interval, but that he abstained from the royal table, and ate so much only as was necessary to maintain life. Now, what was the meaning of this privacy and abstinence? Evidently it was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 12:16-17

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. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 12:16

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-23

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15-31

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:16

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 12:16-17

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