“You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However the kingdom is turned around, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from Yahweh.
- KJV And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD.
- NKJV Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord.
- NASB So he said, “You yourself know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel intended for me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.
- NLT He replied, “As you know, the kingdom was rightfully mine; all Israel wanted me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and the kingdom went to my brother instead; for that is the way the Lord wanted it.
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 claims the kingdom was once his by Israel's expectation, yet acknowledges it passed to Solomon from the LORD. He concedes that God gave the throne to his brother.
Overview
Adonijah recounts his earlier hopes while admitting that the kingdom became Solomon's by the LORD's will. His acknowledgment that the throne came 'from Yahweh' is theologically true, even if his motives are suspect. The statement affirms that God, not human ambition, determines who reigns over his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Chr 22:9–10But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will grant to Israel peace and quiet during his reign.
- 1 Chr 28:5–7And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
- 1 Kgs 1:5At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- 1 Kgs 1:25For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
- Dan 2:22He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
- Jer 27:5–8By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- 2 Sam 16:18“Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.
- 2 Sam 7:12And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
- 2 Sam 15:13Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
- 2 Sam 15:6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
- 2 Sam 12:24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
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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 2:15 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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