(His father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” Adonijah was also very handsome, born next after Absalom.)
Parallel translations
- WEB His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?” and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom.
- KJV And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
- NKJV (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)
- NASB And his father had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.
- NLT Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome.
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
Adonijah had never been disciplined by his father and was handsome, born after Absalom. The verse hints that David's parental failure helped breed his son's presumption.
Overview
The narrator notes that David never restrained or questioned Adonijah's conduct, suggesting a pattern of indulgence with painful consequences. Comparing him to Absalom links Adonijah to a prior rebellion and signals trouble ahead. The verse offers a sober reminder that loving discipline is part of faithful parenting.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Sam 3:3–4his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;
- 1 Sam 3:13I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
- Prov 29:15A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Prov 23:13–14Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
- Heb 12:5–6And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Prov 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- 1 Chr 3:2the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;
- 1 Sam 10:23So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.
- 1 Sam 9:2And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.
- 2 Sam 14:25Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
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 1:6 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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