2 Samuel 12:13-23

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die .
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme , the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die .
15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick .
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted * , and went in , and lay all night upon the earth.
17 And the elders of his house arose , and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died . And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead : for they said , Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself , if we tell him that the child is dead ?
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered , David perceived that the child was dead : therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead ? And they said , He is dead .
20 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 .
21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done ? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead , thou didst rise and eat bread.
22 And he said , While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept : for I said , Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead , wherefore should I fast ? can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Footnotes 2

The King James Version is in the public domain.