1 Kings 2:17

THE MESSAGE

"Ask King Solomon—he won't turn you down—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

Hebrew Names Version
He said, Please speak to Shlomo the king (for he will not tell you 'no'), that he give me Avishag the Shunammite as wife.

King James Version
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

English Standard Version
And he said, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

New Century Version
"I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him," Adonijah continued. "Please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife."

New English Translation
He said, "Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won't refuse you."

Amplified Bible
He said, "Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you; ask that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

New American Standard Bible
Then he said, "Please speak to Solomon the king—for he will not refuse you—that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he sayd, Speake, I pray thee, vnto Salomon ye King, (for he will not say thee nay) that he giue me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he said, "Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not turn you away, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

Contemporary English Version
"Please ask Solomon to let me marry Abishag. He won't say no to you."

Complete Jewish Bible
He said, "Please speak to Shlomo the king — for he won't say ‘No' to you — and ask him to give me Avishag the Shunamit as my wife."

Darby Translation
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king—for he will not refuse thee—that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.

Easy-to-Read Version
Adonijah said, "I know that King Solomon will do whatever you ask. So please ask him to let me marry Abishag, the woman from Shunem."

George Lamsa Translation
And he said to her, Speak to King Solomon (for he will not refuse you) that he give me Abishag the Shilommite to wife.

Good News Translation
He answered, "Please ask King Solomon—I know he won't refuse you—to let me have Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, as my wife."

Lexham English Bible
He said, "Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, so that he will give to me Abishag the Shunnamite as wife."

Literal Translation
And he said, Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not turn away your face, that he give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He sayde: Speake vnto kynge Salomon (for he shall not shame thy face) that he maye geue me Abisag to wyfe.

American Standard Version
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

Bible in Basic English
Then he said, Will you go to Solomon the king (for he will not say, No, to you) and put before him my request that he will give me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he said: Speake I pray thee, vnto Solomo the king (for he wil not say thee nay) that he geue me Abisag the Sunamite to wyfe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said: 'Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king--for he will not say thee nay--that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.'

King James Version (1611)
And hee saide, Speake, I pray thee, vnto Solomon the king (for hee will not say thee nay) that he giue me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he said to her, Speak, I pray thee, to king Solomon, for he will not turn away his face from thee, and let him give me Abisag the Somanite for a wife.

English Revised Version
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

Berean Standard Bible
Adonijah replied, "Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
that thou seie to Salomon the king; for he may not denye ony thing to thee; that he yyue to me Abisag of Sunam wijf.

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, `Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he doth not turn back thy face, and he doth give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.'

Update Bible Version
And he said, Speak, I pray you, to Solomon the king (for he will not say no to you), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, (for he will not say to thee no,) that he give me Abishag the Shunamite for a wife.

World English Bible
He said, Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you 'no'), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.

New King James Version
Then he said, "Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife."

New Living Translation
He replied, "Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to let me marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem."

New Life Bible
He said, "I beg you, speak to Solomon the king. For he will not say no to you. Ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

New Revised Standard
He said, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And she said unto him - Say on. And he said - Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, for he will not turn away thy face, - that he give me Abishag the Shunammite, to wife.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing) to give me Abisag, the Sunamitess, to wife.

Revised Standard Version
And he said, "Pray ask King Solomon--he will not refuse you--to give me Ab'ishag the Shu'nammite as my wife."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he said, "Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

Contextual Overview

¹³Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She said, "Do you come in peace?" He said, "In peace." And then, "May I say something to you?" "Go ahead," she said, "speak." ¹⁵"You know that I had the kingdom right in my hands and everyone expected me to be king, and then the whole thing backfired and the kingdom landed in my brother's lap— God 's doing. So now I have one request to ask of you; please don't refuse me." "Go ahead, ask," she said. ¹⁷ "Ask King Solomon—he won't turn you down—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife." ¹⁸ "Certainly," said Bathsheba. "I'll speak to the king for you." ¹⁹ Bathsheba went to King Solomon to present Adonijah's request. The king got up and welcomed her, bowing respectfully, and returned to his throne. Then he had a throne put in place for his mother, and she sat at his right hand. ²⁰ She said, "I have a small favor to ask of you. Don't refuse me." The king replied, "Go ahead, Mother; of course I won't refuse you." ²¹ She said, "Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as his wife." ²² King Solomon answered his mother, "What kind of favor is this, asking that Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah? Why don't you just ask me to hand over the whole kingdom to him on a platter since he is my older brother and has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side!" ²³Then King Solomon swore under God , "May God do his worst to me if Adonijah doesn't pay for this with his life! As surely as God lives, the God who has set me firmly on the throne of my father David and has put me in charge of the kingdom just as he promised, Adonijah will die for this—today!" ²⁵ King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck Adonijah and he died.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Abishag: 1 Kings 1:2-4, 2 Samuel 3:7, 2 Samuel 12:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 23:8 - entreat Joshua 19:18 - Shunem 2 Samuel 16:21 - unto thy 1 Kings 1:3 - Abishag

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

Genesis 2:10
A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 2:18
God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.

Genesis 2:21
God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

Genesis 3:11
God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"

Genesis 3:17
He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."

Deuteronomy 30:15
Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you Life and Good Death and Evil.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God , your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God , your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

1 Samuel 14:44
Saul said, "Yes. Jonathan most certainly will die. It's out of my hands—I can't go against God, can I?"

1 Samuel 22:16
The king said, "Death, Ahimelech! You're going to die—you and everyone in your family!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king,.... He owns him to be king, and which he the rather did to engage her to take his suit in hand, and to cover his design:

for he will not say thee nay; or turn away thy face, or deny thy request; she being his mother, for whom he had a great affection, and to whom he was under obligation on all accounts:

that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife; which was contrary to the law of God, Leviticus 18:8; which surely Adonijah must have been ignorant of, and Bathsheba likewise; or the one would never have made such a request, nor the other have undertaken to try to obtain it; but perhaps they did not take her to be David's wife, or the marriage to be consummated, because he knew her not: but yet not being returned to her father's house, and being at the dispose of Solomon, prove that she must be a concubine wife, and which became the property of the next heir and successor; see 2 Samuel 12:8; nor did Adonijah apply to her or her friends; which, if he was really in love with her, he would have done, if at her own or their disposal; but this he knew, that she was solely at the disposal of Solomon, to whom he did not care to apply himself, but makes use of his mother.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 2:17. That he give me Abishag - to wife. — He cheerfully gives up all right to the kingdom, and only desires to have this young woman, who, though she had been his father's wife or concubine, was still in a state of virginity. Some think that Joab and Abiathar had advised Adonijah to make this application, not doubting, if he got Abishag, that the popular tide would again turn in his favour, and that Solomon, whom they did not like, might soon be deposed; and that it was on this account that Solomon was so severe. But there is little evidence to support these conjectures. It does not appear that Adonijah by desiring to have Abishag had any thought of the kingdom, or of maintaining any right to it, though Solomon appears to have understood him in this sense. But without farther evidence, this was a flimsy pretext to imbrue his hands in a brother's blood. The fable of the wolf and lamb is here very applicable, and the old English proverb not less so: It is an easy thing to find a staff to beat a dog with. We readily find an excuse for whatever we are determined to do. He who attempts to varnish over this conduct of Solomon by either state necessity or a Divine command, is an enemy, in my mind, to the cause of God and truth. See on 1 Kings 2:25.