1 Kings 2:23

23 King Solomon swore by the LORD, "May God do to me as he sees fit! Adonijah has made this request at the cost of his life!

1 Kings 2:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:23

Then King Solomon sware by the Lord
To prevent his mother pressing him to have her petition granted:

saying, God do so to me, and more also;
lay such and such evils upon me, and more than I care to express:

if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life;
to his own prejudice, and even to the loss of his life; in which Solomon suggests it would issue, being a fresh overt act of treason; he knew, from what Bathsheba said, that this was his petition, and that he had spoken of this to her, and put her upon making it for him; and who no doubt related to Solomon the whole of the conversation that passed between them, and to which he seems to have some respect in his answer.

1 Kings 2:23 In-Context

21 "Let Abishag from Shunem be married to your brother Adonijah," she said.
22 King Solomon replied to his mother, "Why ask only for Abishag from Shunem for Adonijah? Why not ask for the entire kingdom for him? After all, he is my older brother and has the support of Abiathar the priest and Joab, Zeruiah's son."
23 King Solomon swore by the LORD, "May God do to me as he sees fit! Adonijah has made this request at the cost of his life!
24 Now, as surely as the LORD lives—the one who supported me, put me on the throne of my father David, and provided a royal house for me exactly as he promised—Adonijah will be executed today."
25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah, Jehoiada's son. He attacked Adonijah, and Adonijah died.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible