1 Kings 1:42-53

1:42 As he was still speaking, Jonathan¹ son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for² an important man like you must be bringing good news.”³ 1:43 Jonathan replied⁴ to Adonijah: “No!⁵ Our master⁶ King David has made Solomon king. 1:44 The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king’s mule. 1:45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed⁷ him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear. 1:46 Furthermore, Solomon has assumed the royal throne.⁸ 1:47 The king’s servants have even come to congratulate⁹ our master¹⁰ King David, saying, ‘May your God¹¹ make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’¹² Then the king leaned¹³ on the bed 1:48 and said¹⁴ this: ‘The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because¹⁵ today he has placed a successor on my throne and allowed me to see it.’”¹⁶

1:49 All of Adonijah’s guests panicked;¹⁷ they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. 1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.¹⁸ 1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you;¹⁹ see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise²⁰ me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” 1:52 Solomon said, “If he is a loyal subject,²¹ not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor,²² he will die.” 1:53 King Solomon sent men to bring him down²³ from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, “Go home.”²⁴

¹tn The Hebrew text has “look” at this point. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), “look draws attention to Jonathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.

²tn Or “surely.”

³tn Heb “you are a man of strength [or “ability”] and you bring a message [that is] good.” Another option is to understand the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) in the sense of “a worthy man,” that is “loyal.” See also 1 Kgs 1:52 and HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל.

⁴tn Heb “answered and said.”

⁵tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (’aval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative.

⁶tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

⁷tn I.e., designated by anointing with oil.

⁸tn Heb “And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.”

⁹tn Heb “to bless.”

¹⁰tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

¹¹tc Many Hebrew mss agree with the Qere in reading simply “God.”

¹²tn Heb “make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used here of one’s fame and reputation.

¹³tn Or “bowed down; worshiped.”

¹⁴tn The Hebrew text reads, “and the king said.”

¹⁵tn Or “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who….” In this blessing formula אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who; because”) introduces the reason why the one being blessed deserves the honor.

¹⁶tn Heb “and my eyes are seeing.”

¹⁷tn Or “were afraid, trembled.”

¹⁸sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Adonijah was seeking asylum from Solomon.

¹⁹tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁰tn Or “swear an oath to.”

²¹tn Heb “if he is a man of strength [or ability].” In this context, where Adonijah calls himself a “servant,” implying allegiance to the new king, the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) probably carries the sense of “a worthy man,” that is, “loyal” (see HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל).

²²tn Heb “but if evil is found in him.”

²³tn Heb “sent and they brought him down.”

²⁴tn Heb “Go to your house.”