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!
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.
- 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.
- 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 Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
- Ps 140:9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Ps 64:8Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads.
- 1 Kgs 20:10Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
- 2 Kgs 6:31Then he said, “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
- 2 Sam 3:9God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Yahweh has sworn to David, I don’t do even so to him;
- Eccl 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.
- Prov 18:6–7A fool’s lips come into strife, and his mouth invites beatings.
- 2 Sam 3:35All the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down.”
- 2 Sam 19:13Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab.’”
- Luke 19:22“He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down, and reaping that which I didn’t sow.
- 1 Sam 14:44Saul said, “God do so and more also; for you shall 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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