^{10 Ref} So now the sword will never be turned away from your family; because you have had no respect for me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

^{11 Ref} The Lord says, From those of your family I will send evil against you, and before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he will take your wives to his bed by the light of this sun.

^{12 Ref} You did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and in the light of the sun.

^{13 Ref} And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you.

^{14 Ref} But still, because you have had no respect for the Lord, death will certainly overtake the child who has newly come to birth.

^{15 Ref} Then Nathan went back to his house. And the hand of the Lord was on David's son, the child of Uriah's wife, and it became very ill.

^{16 Ref} So David made prayer to God for the child; and he took no food day after day, and went in and, stretching himself out on the earth, was there all night.

^{17 Ref} And the chief men of his house got up and went to his side to make him get up from the earth, but he would not; and he would not take food with them.

^{18 Ref} And then on the seventh day the child's death took place. And David's servants were in fear of giving him the news of the child's death: for they said, Truly, while the child was still living he gave no attention when we said anything to him: what will he do to himself if we give him word that the child is dead?

¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were talking together quietly, he was certain that the child was dead: and he said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is.

^{20 Ref} Then David got up from the earth, and after washing and rubbing himself with oil and changing his clothing, he went into the house of the Lord and gave worship: then he went back to his house, and at his order they put food before him and he had a meal.

^{21 Ref} Then his servants said to him, Why have you been acting in this way? you were weeping and going without food while the child was still living; but when the child was dead, you got up and had a meal.

^{22 Ref} And he said, While the child was still living I went without food and gave myself up to weeping: for I said, Who is able to say that the Lord will not have mercy on me and give the child life?

^{23 Ref} But now that the child is dead there is no reason for me to go without food; am I able to make him come back to life? I will go to him, but he will never come back to me.