2 Samuel 12:23 (ASV)

Passage

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 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.

2 Samuel 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who knoweth whether Jehovah will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?

2 Samuel 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

2 Samuel 12:24 And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon. And Jehovah loved him;

2 Samuel 12:25 and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, for Jehovah`s sake.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dead", "wherefore", "should", "fast", "bring", "back", "again", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dead" and "wherefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And he said While the child was..." into verse 24's "And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife and...", so "dead" and "wherefore" 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 "dead" and "wherefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.