You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
- NKJV And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
- NASB And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to announce to them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
- NLT And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for you to announce who will become king after you.
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
Bathsheba says all Israel waits for David to name his successor. The nation's stability hangs on his decision.
Overview
She appeals to David's responsibility as king to publicly designate who will reign after him. The eyes of all Israel are upon him, underscoring that an unsettled succession endangers the whole kingdom. Her words press David to act decisively for the good of the people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 25:15My eyes are ever on Yahweh, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
- Zech 3:9For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave its engraving,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- 1 Chr 28:5–6Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel.
- 2 Sam 23:2“Yahweh’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue.
- 2 Chr 20:12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
- 1 Chr 28:10Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
- Ps 123:2Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.
- 1 Chr 29:1David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God.
- 1 Chr 22:8–10But Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, ‘You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
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 1:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.