“The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them.”
2 Samuel 12:17 (WEB)
Context Reading
15Then Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he was very sick. 16David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them. 18On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he didn’t listen to our voice. How will he then harm himself if we tell him that the child is dead?” 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”