2 Samuel 12:22 BSB — MannaFest

2 Samuel 12:22

David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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?

KJV

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

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Commentary

2 voices

Ambrose of Milan

CONSOLATION ON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR VALENTINIAN 47.48 (397)

Thus David wept for his son who was about to die; he did not grieve for him when dead. He wept that he might not be snatched from him, but he ceased to weep when he was snatched away, for he knew that he was with Christ. And that you may know what I declare is true, he wept for his incestuous son Amnon when he was killed, and he mourned for the parricide Absalom when he perished, saying, "My son Absalom, my son Absalom!"

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Who can tell - David, and indeed all others under the Mosaic dispensation, were so satisfied that all God’s threatenings and promises were conditional, that even in the most positive assertions relative to judgments, etc., they sought for a change of purpose. And notwithstanding the positive declaration of Nathan, relative to the death of the child, David sought for its life, not knowing but that might depend on some unexpressed condition, such as earnest prayer, fasting, humiliation, etc., and in these he continued while there was hope.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
בְּעוֹד֙	be.'Od	while still	H5750 →
הַיֶּ֣לֶד	hai.Ye.led	the child	H3206 →
חַ֔י	Chai	[was] alive	H2416 →
צַ֖מְתִּי	Tzam.ti	I fasted	H6684 →
וָֽאֶבְכֶּ֑ה	va.'ev.Keh	and I wept	H1058 →
כִּ֤י	ki	for	H3588 →
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙	'a.Mar.ti	I said	H559 →
מִ֣י	mi	who?	H4310 →
יוֹדֵ֔עַ	yo.De.a'	[is] knowing	H3045 →
וְחַנַּ֥נִי	ye.cha.na.ni	and he will show favor to me	H2603 →
יְהוָ֖ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
וְחַ֥י	ve.Chai	and he will live	H2421 →
הַיָּֽלֶד׃	hai.Ya.led	the child	H3206 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Joel 2:14
Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
leads to
- Jonah 3:9
  Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Haggai 2:19
  Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you.”
Through
Isaiah 38:5
“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to…
leads to
- 1 John 5:14–15
  And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Psalms 34:5–6
  Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
- Revelation 7:17
  For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Luke 1:13
  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- Psalms 147:3
  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Through
Jonah 1:6
The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
leads to
- Psalms 107:28–29
  Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.

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About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

2 Samuel: the study guide →Read chapter 12 →The featured study →

PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.

Continue: 2 Samuel 12 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Samuel