Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life.
Parallel Translations
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Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life.
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Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
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Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 1:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 19:17 It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”
- Judges 9:5 He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
- 1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
- 2 Kings 11:1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal offspring.
- 2 Chronicles 21:4 Now when Jehoram had risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 22:10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah.
- Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
- Proverbs 15:22 Where there is no counsel, plans fail; but in a multitude of counselors they are established.
- Proverbs 20:18 Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
- Jeremiah 38:15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”
- Matthew 21:38 But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’
- Acts 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you can’t be saved.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For Adonijah will destroy thee and thy son, if…
For Adonijah will destroy thee and thy son, if he reigns.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 1:12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray…
1Ki 1:12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
Ver. 12. That thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.] Which the usurper will surely take away if he carry the crown; not suffering any such rub to lie in the way, that may hinder the true running of his bowl.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain For he will never reckon himself safe till his…
For he will never reckon himself safe till his competitor and his friends be taken out of the way.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give…
Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel,.... How to conduct in this affair, which she being a woman, and no doubt surprised and confounded at this relation, might be at a loss what to do; wherefore Nathan, being a wise man, and a faithful friend, offers to give the best advice he could, and desires her attention to it: says he,
that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon; which would be the usurper's first care to take away, that he might have no rival, and none to disturb him in his government; which step has been often taken by usurpers to secure themselves, see Jdg 9:5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Save thine own life, and the life…
Verse 12. Save thine own life, and the life of thy son] Nathan took for granted that Adonijah would put both Bath-sheba and Solomon to death as state criminals, if he got established on the throne. O cursed lust of rule! a father will destroy his son, a son depose his father, and a brother murder a brother, in order to obtain a crown! At this time the monarchy of Israel was unsettled; no man knew who was to succeed to the crown, and the minds of the people were as unsettled as the succession. I have examined both systems, and find that, with all its alleged disadvantages, hereditary monarchy has a high balance of evidence in its favour beyond that which is elective, and is every way more safe for the state and more secure for the subject.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain It would have been in accordance with general Eastern…
It would have been in accordance with general Eastern custom for Solomon to suffer death, if Adonijah had succeeded in his attempt. But to have executed his mother also would have been an unusual severity. Still, such cases sometimes occurred: Cassander put to death Roxana, the widow of Alexander the Great, at the same time with her son, the young Alexander.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Life. Both would have been in imminent danger, if…
Life. Both would have been in imminent danger, if the ambitious projects of Adonias succeeded, as he knew that the throne had been promised to Solomon by his father, and he would consider him as a dangerous rival. (Calmet) --- The Turkish emperors usually destroy or confine their brethren, when they commence their reign. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Save thine own life — If Adonijah became…
12. Save thine own life — If Adonijah became king, he would doubtless, according to the barbarous custom of Oriental monarchs, destroy all persons suspected of claiming a title to the kingdom, and therefore the lives of Solomon and his mother would be in peril.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. save thine own life, and the life of…
12. save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon] Because it has ever been the policy of an Oriental usurper, as soon as ever he had power enough, to put out of the way those who were likely to oppose him, and so make his throne more secure.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) The life of . . . Solomon.—The usurpation…
(12) The life of . . . Solomon.—The usurpation of Adonijah would, as a matter of course, be sealed by the blood of his rival Solomon. (Comp. 2Ch_21:4.) Bath-sheba herself need hardly have been sacrificed; but her position of favour with David would excite jealousy, and Solomon, being still young, might well be thought only an instrument in her hands.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Now therefore come, let me give Hebrews counsel thee…
Now therefore come, let me give Hebrews counsel thee counsel, that thou mayest save Hebrews and save, i.e., by acting upon it thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. The custom of Eastern kings to secure their thrones by a massacre of their rivals has received many illustrations, notably among the Ottomans, and is receiving one in Burmah at the present moment (May, 1879). We have Scripture instances in Jud_1:9:5; 1Ki_15:29; 2Ki_10:7, 14 11:1. 1Sa_24:21. To put a royal mother to death, along with her offspring, though perhaps unusual, was not unknown. Rawlinson cites the instances of Cleopatra, widow of Philip of Macedon, who was murdered with her infant son Caranus by Olympias; and Roxana, widow of Alexander the Great, who, with her son, was put to death by Cassander. Nathan does not say this will be, but may be, Bathsheba"s fate. Behold, I have done according to thy words i.e. , granted thy prayer, as the next words show: lo Heb. behold I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. Cf. 1Ch_29:25; 2Ch_9:22. But there is no need to restrict the reference to kings and princes.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.