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On the Death of the YoungDavid prayed to God for his child; he fasted, and lay all night upon the ground. The elders of his house tried to raise him from the ground, but he would not rise, nor would he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died. The servants of King David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they reasoned: "While his child was still alive, he did not listen to us when we spoke to him. How, then, can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do himself some harm."When David noticed that his servants were whispering to each other, he realized that the child was dead. Then David asked his servants, "Is the child dead?" They answered, "He is dead." So David arose from the ground and washed and changed his clothes, and he went to the house of the Lord, and he worshipped. Then he went to his own house and, when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. His servants then asked him, “What is this thing that you have done?" And David replied, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and I wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child will live?' But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."II Samuel 12:16-23
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