16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted,
16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
16 David prayed desperately to God for the little boy. He fasted, wouldn't go out, and slept on the floor.
16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
16 David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 12:16
Commentary on 2 Samuel 12:15-25
(Read 2 Samuel 12:15-25)
David now penned the 51st Psalm, in which, though he had been assured that his sin was pardoned, he prays earnestly for pardon, and greatly laments his sin. He was willing to bear the shame of it, to have it ever before him, to be continually upbraided with it. God gives us leave to be earnest with him in prayer for particular blessings, from trust in his power and general mercy, though we have no particular promise to build upon. David patiently submitted to the will of God in the death of one child, and God made up the loss to his advantage, in the birth of another. The way to have creature comforts continued or restored, or the loss made up some other way, is cheerfully to resign them to God. God, by his grace, particularly owned and favoured that son, and ordered him to be called Jedidiah, Beloved of the Lord. Our prayers for our children are graciously and as fully answered when some of them die in their infancy, for they are well taken care of, and when others live, "beloved of the Lord."