16David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”
— 2 Samuel 12:16-18