“Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Bathsheba said, “Alright. I will speak for you to the king.”
- KJV And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
- NKJV So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
- NASB And Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”
- NLT “All right,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for 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 agrees to carry Adonijah's request to King Solomon. It matters because her well-meaning intervention sets in motion the exposure of Adonijah's renewed grasp for power.
Overview
Adonijah, Solomon's older half-brother and a recently defeated rival for the throne, has just asked Bathsheba to petition the king for Abishag, David's last attendant. Bathsheba, perhaps not perceiving the political weight of the request, agrees to speak for him. Her honored position as queen mother makes her a natural intercessor, a role that quietly foreshadows the dignity Scripture gives to the king's mother in Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Prov 14:15The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:18 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.