1 Kings 2:20

20 Then she said, "I am making one small request of you; 1do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask, 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 for you."
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.
20 Then she said, "I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you."
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife."
22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, "And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom -for he is my older brother -even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!"

Cross References 1

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Lit "turn away my face"
  • [b]. Lit "turn away your face"
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