2 Samuel 12:17 (ASV)

Passage

And the elders of his house arose, [and stood] beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah`s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

2 Samuel 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, [and stood] beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

2 Samuel 12:18 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!

2 Samuel 12:19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elders", "house", "arose", "stood", "beside", "raise", "earth", and "neither". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elders" and "house", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "David therefore besought God for the child..." into verse 18's "And it came to pass on the...", so "elders" and "house" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "elders" and "house" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.