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.
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.
- BSB “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.
- 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.
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 22:9–10Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.
- 1 Chr 28:5–7Of 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.
- 1 Kgs 1:5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
- 1 Kgs 1:25For he has gone down today, and has slain cattle, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. Behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live king Adonijah!’
- Dan 2:22he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
- Jer 27:5–8‘I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- 2 Sam 16:18Hushai said to Absalom, “No; but whomever Yahweh, and this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his will I be, and with him I will stay.
- 2 Sam 7:12When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
- 2 Sam 15:13A messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.”
- 2 Sam 15:6Absalom did this sort of thing to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
- 2 Sam 12:24David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Yahweh loved him;
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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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