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?
On the seventh day, the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. They said to each other, 'Look, when the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he wouldn't listen to us. How much more will he torment himself if we tell him the child is dead?'
The writer is describing how David's servants feared telling him his child had died because they had seen how intensely he grieved while the child was still alive.
📚 Historical Context
This follows David's adultery with Bathsheba and his arrangement of her husband's death in battle. The prophet Nathan had pronounced God's judgment that the child born from this relationship would die. David had spent seven days fasting and praying desperately for the child's life, lying on the ground and refusing to eat or listen to anyone's counsel.
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