2 Samuel 12:22 (GNV)

Passage

And he sayde, While the childe was yet aliue, I fasted, and wept: for I sayde, Who can tell whether God will haue mercy on me, that the childe may liue?

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 12:20 Then Dauid arose from the earth, and washed and anoynted himselfe, and changed his apparell, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped, and afterward came to his owne house, and bade that they should set bread before him, and he did eate.

2 Samuel 12:21 Then saide his seruants vnto him, What thing is this, that thou hast done? thou diddest fast and weepe for the childe while it was aliue, but when the childe was dead, thou diddest rise vp, and eate meate.

2 Samuel 12:22 And he sayde, While the childe was yet aliue, I fasted, and wept: for I sayde, Who can tell whether God will haue mercy on me, that the childe may liue?

2 Samuel 12:23 But now being dead, wherefore shoulde I now fast? Can I bring him againe any more? I shall goe to him, but he shall not returne to me.

2 Samuel 12:24 And Dauid comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in vnto her, and lay with her, and she bare a sonne, and he called his name Salomon: also the Lord loued him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "sayde", "childe", "aliue", "fasted", "wept", "tell", and "whether". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "sayde", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Then saide his seruants vnto him What..." into verse 23's "But now being dead wherefore shoulde I...", so "mercy" and "sayde" 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 "mercy" and "sayde" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.