2 Samuel 12:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

NIV: Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

NASB: So David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

CSB: Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.

NLT: Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.

KJV: Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

NKJV: So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.

The Lord has emphatically and decisively said no to David's urgent request to save his son from death. David has been asking for a week, even though the Lord had revealed to him that the boy would die as a direct result of David's sin (2 Samuel 12:14, 15–19). Now that the boy has died, David rises from the ground and gets himself together once more. David washes, anoints himself with oil, and changes his clothes, things he had stopped doing while making his request.

More than that, David goes to the house of the Lord, the tent where the ark of God is kept, and worships God. This is a striking demonstration of humility and submission. David has made his plea to God, and God has said no. David takes that no for God's righteous answer and refuses to become bitter. Rather than avoid the Lord's presence, David goes to the God who rejected his plea and worships Him. Finally, David abandons his fast and begins to eat again.

David didn't want the boy to die. He won't want the other curses to occur, either (2 Samuel 12:10–13). But David's priority isn't a pain-free life. Psalm 51 is David's prayer to God during this time of repentance and suffering. David's plea for his son's life is great, but his plea for God's forgiveness and restoration is greater. Even as David washes himself, he knows the only true cleansing comes from God:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
--Psalm 51:7

Second Samuel 12:15–23 presents David's loss as Uriah's justice. David stole Uriah's wife, made her pregnant, and murdered him, taking away his right to leave a descendant for his family line. As a parallel, David will experience the loss of a child. David fasts and prays for mercy but accepts God's will when the child dies. Bathsheba will have four more sons including Solomon, the future king (2 Samuel 12:24–25; 1 Chronicles 3:5).

In 2 Samuel 12, David learns the consequences of his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11). David thought no one of consequence knew what he'd done. Nathan the prophet reveals that God knows; the Lord demands justice for David's victims. David's household will rebel, and Bathsheba's son will die. David humbly repents, and Bathsheba later conceives Solomon, the future king. Joab, about to defeat the Ammonites, calls David to finish the fight. In 2 Samuel 13, the seeds of the promised rebellion are sown. Psalm 51 is David's expression of remorse for his sins.

David begins to lose control of his seemingly perfect situation. While the respected soldier Uriah was fighting Ammonites with Joab (2 Samuel 10), David slept with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. To cover her pregnancy, David arranged for Uriah to die in battle (2 Samuel 11). Nathan, the prophet, confronts David over his crimes. God takes the child's life and will allow David's household to rebel against him. This begins when David's son rapes his own half-sister, Tamar (2 Samuel 13), starting a series of events that will result in another son, Absalom, taking the throne from his father (2 Samuel 14—16).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.