1-Kings - 1:13



13 Go in to king David, and tell him, 'Didn't you, my lord, king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign?'

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Kings 1:13.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
Go, and get thee in to king David, and say to him: Didst not thou, my lord O king, swear to me thy handmaid, saying: Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then doth Adonias reign?
go and enter in unto king David, and thou hast said unto him, Hast thou not, my lord, O king, sworn to thy handmaid, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne? and wherefore hath Adonijah reigned?
Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king?
Go in to king David, and tell him, 'Did you not, my lord, king, swear to your handmaid, saying, 'Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne'? Why then does Adonijah reign?'
Go and enter to king David, and say to him: 'Did you not, my lord the king, swear to me, your handmaid, saying: "Your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he himself shall sit on my throne?" Then why does Adonijah reign?'

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Go and get thee in unto King David - He knew that this woman had a sovereign influence over the king. If Bath-sheba was a source of pleasure to David, must she not also have been a source of pain to him? For could he ever forget the guilty manner in which he acquired her?
Didst not thou - swear - It is very likely that David made such an oath, and that was known only to Bath-sheba and Nathan. It is nowhere else mentioned.

Go and get thee in unto King David,.... That is, go into the chamber where the king lay, at once, without any ceremony:
and say unto him, didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? though no mention is elsewhere made of such an oath, there undoubtedly was one, of which Nathan had knowledge, either from David or Bathsheba, or from them both, or might be present himself at the making of it; for not only Bathsheba affirms it, 1-Kings 1:17; but David owns it and confirms it, 1-Kings 1:30;
why then doth Adonijah reign? surely it cannot be with the king's knowledge and consent, so manifestly contrary to his promise and oath.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


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