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 when the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how much more will he afflict himself if we tell him that the child is dead?
וַיְהִ֛י בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י וַיָּ֣מָת הַיָּ֑לֶד וַיִּֽרְאוּ֩ עַבְדֵ֨י דָוִ֜ד לְהַגִּ֥יד ל֣וֹ ׀ כִּי־מֵ֣ת הַיֶּ֗לֶד כִּ֤י אָֽמְרוּ֙ הִנֵּה֩ בִהְי֨וֹת הַיֶּ֜לֶד חַ֗י דִּבַּ֤רְנוּ אֵלָיו֙ וְלֹא־שָׁמַ֣ע בְּקוֹלֵ֔נוּ וְאֵ֨יךְ נֹאמַ֥ר אֵלָ֛יו מֵ֥ת הַיֶּ֖לֶד וְעָשָׂ֥ה רָעָֽה׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
In that moment, what God had predetermined came to pass: the child passed away; the wife wept, the entire household echoed with lamentations, and the servants were apprehensive about the impending news; none were brave enough to tell the lord of his son's demise, fearing that the king, who had grieved so profoundly for his still-living son, might choose to end his own life upon receiving the tragic news.
Why did the Lord take the life of an infant (2 Sam. 12:18)? If the child had survived, he would have served as a reminder of sin and a source of disgrace to the righteous king. Thus, in His mercy towards the prophet, the Lord chose not to let him continue living.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS