2 Samuel 12:17 (GNV)

Passage

Then the Elders of his house arose to come vnto him, and to cause him to rise from the groud: but he would not, neither did he eate meate with them.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:15 So Nathan departed vnto his house: and the Lord stroke the childe that Vriahs wife bare vnto Dauid, and it was sicke.

2 Samuel 12:16 Dauid therefore besought God for the childe, and fasted and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.

2 Samuel 12:17 Then the Elders of his house arose to come vnto him, and to cause him to rise from the groud: but he would not, neither did he eate meate with them.

2 Samuel 12:18 So on the seuenth day the child dyed: and the seruants of Dauid feared to tell him that the childe was dead: for they sayde, Beholde, while the childe was aliue, we spake vnto him, and he woulde not hearken vnto our voyce: how then shall we say vnto him, The childe is dead, to vexe him more?

2 Samuel 12:19 But when Dauid sawe that his seruantes whispered, Dauid perceiued that the childe was dead: therefore Dauid sayde vnto his seruants, Is the childe dead? And they sayd, He is dead.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elders", "house", "arose", "come", "vnto", "cause", "rise", and "groud". 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 "Dauid therefore besought God for the childe..." into verse 18's "So on the seuenth day the child...", 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.