2 Samuel 12:23 (GNV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

2 Samuel 12:25 For the Lord had sent by Nathan the Prophet: therefore he called his name Iedidiah, because the Lord loued him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dead", "wherefore", "shoulde", "fast", "bring", "againe", 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 sayde While the childe was..." into verse 24's "And Dauid 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.