And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

And now, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them, who shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee.

And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on thee, to declare to them who doth sit on the throne of my lord the king after him;

And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him.

And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to announce to them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

Truly now, my lord the king, the eyes of all of Israel look with favor upon you, that you may indicate to them who ought to sit upon your throne, my lord the king, after you.

Tell them who shall sit on the throne - Side by side with what may be called the natural right of hereditary succession, there existed in the old world, and especially in the East, a right, if not of absolutely designating a successor, yet at any rate of choosing one among several sons. Thus, Cyrus designated Cambyses; and Darius designated Xerxes; and a still more absolute right of nomination was exercised by some of the Roman emperors.

That thou shouldest tell - who shall sit on the throne - This was a monarchy neither hereditary nor elective; the king simply named his successor. This obtained less or more, anciently, in most countries.

And thou, my lord, O king,.... As for thee, or what concerns thee, or is incumbent on thee, will appear from the expectations of the people:
the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him; this she said, to dissipate any fears that might possess his mind on hearing what Adonijah had done, that the people in general had assented to it, and encouraged him to it; whereas the body of the people were waiting to hear what was the will and determination of David: for they not only considered him as having a power to name a successor, as was afterwards done by Rehoboam, but as one that had the mind of God revealed to him who should be his successor, to which they should pay a regard.

the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne--When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded. But frequently they designated long before their death which of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia, as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same right in modern and even recent times.