17. The leaders of David’s family came and tried to pull David up from the ground, but he refused to get up. He refused to eat with these leaders.
18. On the seventh day the baby died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the baby was dead. They said, “Look, we tried to talk to David while the baby was alive, but he refused to listen to us. If we tell David that the baby is dead, he might do something bad to himself.”
19. David saw his servants whispering and understood that the baby was dead. So David asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?” The servants answered, “Yes, he is dead.”
20. Then David got up from the floor. He washed himself. He changed his clothes and got dressed. Then he went into the Lord’S house to worship. After that he went home and asked for something to eat. His servants gave him some food, and he ate.
21. David’s servants asked him, “Why are you doing this? When the baby was alive, you cried and refused to eat. But when the baby died you got up and ate food.”
22. David said, “While the baby was still living, I cried and refused to eat because I thought, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live.’
23. But now the baby is dead, so why should I refuse to eat? Can I bring the baby back to life? No. Some day I will go to him, but he cannot come back to me.”