1 Rois 1:4

4 Cette jeune fille était fort belle. Elle soigna le roi, et le servit; mais le roi ne la connut point.

1 Rois 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:4

And the damsel [was] very fair
And so very agreeable to the king to be in his presence, and wait upon him, and take things of her hand, as well as lie with him:

and cherished the king;
enlivened his spirits by her amiable countenance, her graceful behaviour, and tender care of him, and especially by bedding with him:

and ministered to him;
serving him with her own hands whatever he took for his sustenance:

but the king knew her not;
as a man knows his wife; which shows that she was his wife, and that it would not have been criminal in him had he known her; but this is observed, not to point at the chastity of David, but his feebleness, and loss of desire after women, and that the damsel remained a virgin; and that was the ground of Adonijah's request, and his hope of succeeding.

1 Rois 1:4 In-Context

2 Ses serviteurs lui dirent: Que l'on cherche pour mon seigneur le roi une jeune fille vierge; qu'elle se tienne devant le roi, qu'elle le soigne, et qu'elle couche dans ton sein; et mon seigneur le roi se réchauffera.
3 On chercha dans tout le territoire d'Israël une fille jeune et belle, et on trouva Abischag, la Sunamite, que l'on conduisit auprès du roi.
4 Cette jeune fille était fort belle. Elle soigna le roi, et le servit; mais le roi ne la connut point.
5 Adonija, fils de Haggith, se laissa emporter par l'orgueil jusqu'à dire: C'est moi qui serai roi! Et il se procura un char et des cavaliers, et cinquante hommes qui couraient devant lui.
6 Son père ne lui avait de sa vie fait un reproche, en lui disant: Pourquoi agis-tu ainsi? Adonija était, en outre, très beau de figure, et il était né après Absalom.
The Louis Segond 1910 is in the public domain.