KJV ORIGINAL
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.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
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 BOTTOM LINE
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
This follows David's adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. The prophet Nathan had told David that as punishment, the child born from this relationship would die. David had spent seven days fasting and pleading with God for the child's life, lying on the ground in desperate prayer.
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