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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
- Ps 140:9As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Ps 64:8So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
- 1 Kgs 20:10And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
- 2 Kgs 6:31Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
- 2 Sam 3:9So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;
- Eccl 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
- Prov 18:6–7A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
- 2 Sam 3:35And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
- 2 Sam 19:13And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
- Luke 19:22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
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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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