2 Samuel 12:23

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 12:23

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast ?.... And pray; it is to no purpose, no end can be thought to be answered by it: can I bring him back again ? from the state of the dead, bring him to life by fasting, and praying, and weeping; that is not to e expected: I shall go to him ; to the state of the dead, to the grave, where his body was, or would be; to heaven and eternal happiness, where his soul was, as he comfortably hoped and believed: from whence it appears, that the Old... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 12:23

I shall go to him , but he shall not return to me - It is not clear whether David by this expressed his faith in the immortality of the soul; going to him may only mean, I also shall die, and be gathered to my fathers, as he is. But whether David expressed this or not, we know that the thing is true; and it is one of the most solid grounds of consolation to surviving friends that they shall by and by be joined to them in a state of conscious existence. This doctrine has... 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 12:22-23

An infant's illness and death. This part of the narrative introduces us to a spectacle which, in its main features, is common enough. A child sickening and dying, a parent striving with God in prayer and fasting for its life, but striving in vain. But there are peculiar circumstances here which give the scene a special interest. I. THE CHILD 'S FATAL SICKNESS . 1 . The cause of it. The sufferings and deaths of little children are painful to witness, and awaken many... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:23

I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. These words indicate, first of all, much personal feeling for the child. Hence some have supposed that, as Solomon is placed last of Bathsheba's four sons in 2 Samuel 5:14 and 1 Chronicles 3:5 , three other sons had already been borne by her, and that consequently this child, the fruit of their adultery, would now have been seven or eight years of age. It is certainly remarkable that in 1 Chronicles 3:16 David calls him "the lad" (so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:23

( THE PALACE .) The death of a child. "I shall go to him." David had at least a glimpse of the future life. The expectation of going to his child in the grave would have afforded him little comfort. But whatever meaning may be attached to the words as uttered by him, they may be profitably considered by us in the light of the gospel. Reason sheds only starlight on the future; the revelations of the Old Testament only twilight; but Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 12:23

2 Samuel 12:23. Wherefore should I fast Seeing fasting and prayer cannot now prevail with God for his life. I shall go to him Into the state of the dead in which he is, and into heaven, where, I doubt not, I shall find him. Or, as Mr. Saurin paraphrases the words, “If I cannot have the consolation to partake with this infant the temporal happiness wherewith the divine goodness hath blessed me, I hope to rejoin his soul one day in heaven, and to partake with him eternal felicity.” As David... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:1-31

11:1-20:26 CONFLICTS IN DAVID’S FAMILYDavid takes Bathsheba as wife (11:1-12:31)While the Israelite army was out fighting another battle against Ammon, David, back in Jerusalem, committed a series of sins that brought him sorrow and trouble for the rest of his life. To begin with, he was guilty of sexual immorality with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, one of David’s top soldiers (11:1-5; cf. 23:39).On discovering that Bathsheba was pregnant, David thought of a plan to cover up his sin. He recalled... read more

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