Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then king Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
- KJV Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
- NKJV Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
- NASB Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more so, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
- NLT Then King Solomon made a vow before the Lord: “May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request.
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
Solomon swears a solemn oath by Yahweh that Adonijah's request has cost him his life. The renewed treachery seals the judgment that mercy had earlier suspended.
Overview
Adonijah had been spared on the condition that he prove himself worthy (1:52), but this fresh grasp for the throne breaks that condition. Solomon binds himself with a self-imprecating oath, treating the matter with utmost gravity. The episode shows that persistent rebellion against the rightful king brings judgment, a sobering pattern fulfilled finally in submission or resistance to Christ the King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
- Ps 140:9May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
- Ps 64:8They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.
- 1 Kgs 20:10Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
- 2 Kgs 6:31He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- 2 Sam 3:9May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD has sworn to him:
- Eccl 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
- Prov 18:6–7A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- 2 Sam 3:35Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
- 2 Sam 19:13And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- Luke 19:22His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
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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 2:23 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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