1 Kings 2:20

20 Then she said, "I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you."

1 Kings 2:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:20

Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee
It was but one, and a little one, and therefore she hoped it would be granted:

[I pray thee], say me not nay;
do not refuse it, or deny it me, or turn away my thee with shame and disappointment:

and the king said, ask on, my mother, for I will not say thee nay;
since it is a small one, as thou sayest, and provided it is fit and lawful to be granted.

1 Kings 2:20 In-Context

18 Bathsheba said, "Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf."
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.
20 Then she said, "I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you."
21 She said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife."
22 King Solomon answered his mother, "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!"
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.