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.
Then his servants said to him, 'What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you got up and ate food.'
The servants are confused because David mourned and fasted while his sick baby was alive, but stopped grieving and ate normally after the child died.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative of 2 Samuel, King David was dealing with the fallout from his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, as God had pronounced judgment through the prophet Nathan. As a result, the child born from David's affair became gravely ill, leading David to fast and weep in desperate prayer for the child's life. When the child died, David's servants were bewildered by his abrupt shift from mourning to normal activities, such as eating, which reflected the cultural norms of grief in ancient Israel.
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