1 Kings 1:12
in 1 Kings 1Now please, come and let me advise you. Save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
KJV
Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
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This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSave thine own life, and the life of thy son - Nathan took for granted that Adonijah would put both Bath-sheba and Solomon to death as state criminals, if he got established on the throne. O cursed lust of rule! a father will destroy his son, a son depose his father, and a brother murder a brother, in order to obtain a crown! At this time the monarchy of Israel was unsettled; no man knew who was to succeed to the crown, and the minds of the people were as unsettled as the succession.
This site's exposition
the son of Haggith doth reign
on 1 Kings 1:11-12
Nathan learns of the feast and moves first, going to Bathsheba rather than to David directly. This is the same Nathan who carried the dynastic promise of 2 Sam 7 and who confronted David over Bathsheba herself in 2 Sam 12, now acting a third time to secure the son that promise named. His warning is blunt: without action now, both her life and Solomon's are at risk.
This site's exposition
Save your own life
Albert Barnes notes that a losing rival in the ancient East usually died, and his mother sometimes died with him. Cassander put to death Roxana, the widow of Alexander the Great, together with her young son. Adam Clarke adds that Israel's succession was still unsettled.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Such as this is the counsel that Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only that no man take our crown ( Rev. iii. 11 ), but that we save our lives, even the lives of our souls.
Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Adonijah, in common with the people generally, expected that this natural arrangement should be followed in the Hebrew kingdom as in all others. Nathan, who was aware of the old king's solemn promise to Solomon, and, moreover, that this promise was sanctioned by the divine will, saw that no time was to be lost.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It would have been in accordance with general Eastern custom for Solomon to suffer death, if Adonijah had succeeded in his attempt. But to have executed his mother also would have been an unusual severity. Still, such cases sometimes occurred: Cassander put to death Roxana, the widow of Alexander the Great, at the same time with her son, the young Alexander.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And you will save your life. From the rivalry which will follow the death of the king, for your son will wish to reign, as the Holy One Blessed Is He, had promised him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֕ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| לְכִ֛י | lekhi | come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אִיעָצֵ֥ךְ | ʾiatzekh | let me counsel you | H3289 → | 79 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| עֵצָ֑ה | ʾetzah | counsel | H6098 → | 89 times |
| וּמַלְּטִי֙ | umaleti | and save | H4422 → | 95 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשֵׁ֔ךְ | nafshekh | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נֶ֥פֶשׁ | nefesh | [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בְּנֵ֖ךְ | benekh | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
וְעַתָּ֕הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
לְכִ֛יcome
lekhiH1980 →1546 times
אִיעָצֵ֥ךְlet me counsel you
ʾiatzekhH3289 →79 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
עֵצָ֑הcounsel
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
וּמַלְּטִי֙and save
umaletiH4422 →95 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשֵׁ֔ךְlife your
nafshekhH5315 →754 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
נֶ֥פֶשׁ[the] life of
nefeshH5315 →754 times
בְּנֵ֖ךְson your
benekhH1121 →4930 times
שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃Solomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 27:31But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by…
- Jeremiah 29:11–13
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
- Psalms 91:11–12
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
Through
2 Kings 11:1When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 41:1
In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son…
- 2 Chronicles 22:10–12
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
- 2 Kings 25:25
In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the…
- Jeremiah 41:1
Through
1 Kings 1:21Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be counted as criminals.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:10
Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
- Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will…
- 1 Kings 2:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.