1 Kings 1:20
in 1 Kings 1And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
KJV
And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
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This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThat thou shouldest tell - who shall sit on the throne - This was a monarchy neither hereditary nor elective; the king simply named his successor. This obtained less or more, anciently, in most countries.
This site's exposition
Solomon thy servant hath he not called
on 1 Kings 1:19-21
Bathsheba repeats the guest list from Adonijah's feast, oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host, and repeats that Solomon was not called. She frames the danger in language David cannot ignore, the eyes of all Israel are upon him to name a successor, and warns that she and Solomon will be counted offenders the moment David dies. That word is her own estimate of what a losing claimant becomes under a new king, and 2:13-25 will show the estimate held.
This site's exposition
the eyes of all Israel are upon you
Israel waits on David, for the king alone names who will sit on the throne after him. Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes describe this as the ancient right of a king to choose among his sons. Silence would leave the throne to the eldest son.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
Discourses Against the Arians 2.3-4 · Written before 373.
proposed
Thus fathers often call their sons their servants, yet without denying the genuineness of their nature. In fact, they often affectionately call their own servants children, yet without losing sight of the fact they did purchase them originally. For they use the one appellation from their authority as fathers, but in the other they speak from affection. Thus Sara called Abraham lord, although she was not a servant but a wife.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king. Note, Whatever power, interest or influence, men have, they ought to improve it to the utmost for the preserving and advancing of the kingdom of the Messiah, of which Solomon's kingdom was a type. She suggested the imminent peril which she and her son would be in if this matter was not settled in David's life-time,
And thou, my lord, O king,....
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
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne--When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Tell them who shall sit on the throne - Side by side with what may be called the natural right of hereditary succession, there existed in the old world, and especially in the East, a right, if not of absolutely designating a successor, yet at any rate of choosing one among several sons. Thus, Cyrus designated Cambyses; and Darius designated Xerxes; and a still more absolute right of nomination was exercised by some of the Roman emperors.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּה֙ | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֣י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עֵינֵ֥י | ʾeinei | [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עָלֶ֑יךָ | ʾaleikha | [are] on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְהַגִּ֣יד | lehagid | to tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| מִ֗י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יֵשֵׁ֛ב | yeshev | will he sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּסֵּ֥א | kise' | [the] throne of | H3678 → | 135 times |
| אֲדֹנִֽי־ | ʾadoni- | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַחֲרָֽיו׃ | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
וְאַתָּה֙and you
veatahH859 →1094 times
אֲדֹנִ֣יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
עֵינֵ֥י[the] eyes of
ʾeineiH5869 →887 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עָלֶ֑יךָ[are] on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
לְהַגִּ֣ידto tell
lehagidH5046 →370 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
מִ֗יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יֵשֵׁ֛בwill he sit
yeshevH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כִּסֵּ֥א[the] throne of
kise'H3678 →135 times
אֲדֹנִֽי־lord my
ʾadoni-H113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אַחֲרָֽיו׃after him
ʾacharavH310 →715 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
2 Chronicles 20:12Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
it leads to
- Psalms 121:1–2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 141:8
But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 25:15
My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
- Psalms 123:1–2
I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven.
- Deuteronomy 32:36
For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Psalms 121:1–2
Through
Psalms 25:15My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
it leads to
- Psalms 124:7–8
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.
- Psalms 31:4
You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge.
- Psalms 123:2
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God…
- Psalms 124:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 2.3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.