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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life.
- BSB Now please, come and let me advise you. Save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
- NKJV Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
- NASB So now come, please let me give you advice, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.
- NLT If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nathan offers Bathsheba a plan to save her own life and Solomon's. He recognizes the deadly danger a rival king poses to them.
Overview
Nathan understands that if Adonijah secures the throne, Bathsheba and Solomon would likely be killed as threats. His counsel is both shrewd and protective, aimed at preserving the line through which God's promise to David will run. The verse underscores the real stakes of royal succession in the ancient world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Kgs 11:1And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
- Prov 15:22Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
- 2 Chr 22:10But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
- Jer 38:15Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
- Prov 11:14Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
- Prov 27:9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
- Judg 9:5And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
- Acts 27:31Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
- Gen 19:17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
- Matt 21:38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
- 2 Chr 21:4Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
- Prov 20:18Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
- 1 Kgs 1:21Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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