2 Samuel 12:23

23 But he is dead now. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? No. I am going where he is, but he won't come back to me."

2 Samuel 12:23 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 12:23

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast?
&c.] And pray; it is to no purpose, no end can be thought to be answered by it:

can I bring him back again?
from the state of the dead, bring him to life by fasting, and praying, and weeping; that is not to e expected:

I shall go to him;
to the state of the dead, to the grave, where his body was, or would be; to heaven and eternal happiness, where his soul was, as he comfortably hoped and believed: from whence it appears, that the Old Testament saints did not suppose an annihilation at death; but believed the immortality of the soul, a future state after death of eternal life and bliss:

but he shall not return to me;
in the present mortal state, though at the resurrection they should meet again.

2 Samuel 12:23 In-Context

21 "Why are you acting this way?" his servants asked. "When the child was alive, you fasted and cried and kept watch, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat food!"

22 David replied, "While the child was alive I fasted and wept because I thought, Who knows? The LORD may have mercy on me and let the child live.

23 But he is dead now. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? No. I am going where he is, but he won't come back to me."

24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had sex with her. She gave birth to a son and named him Solomon. The LORD loved him

25 and sent word by the prophet Nathan to name him Jedidiah because of the LORD's grace.