16 David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy. He fasted, went to his bedroom, and spent the night lying in sackcloth12:16. "In sackcloth": Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls reading. on the ground.
22 David replied, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and cried aloud, for I thought to myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23 But now that he’s dead, what’s the point for me to go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? One day I will die and go to him, but he will never come back to me."