1 Kings 2:15

2:15 He said, “You know that the kingdom ¹  was mine and all Israel considered me king. ²  But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. ³ 

1 Kings 2:1

David’s Final Words to Solomon

2:1 When David was close to death, ⁴  he told ⁵  Solomon his son:

1 Kings 1:1

Adonijah Tries to Seize the Throne

1:1 King David was very old; ⁶  even when they covered him with blankets, ⁷  he could not get warm.

1 Kings 1:4-5

1:4 The young woman was very beautiful; she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her. ⁸ 

1:5 Now Adonijah, son of David and Haggith, ⁹  was promoting himself, ¹⁰  boasting, ¹¹  “I will be king!” He managed to acquire ¹²  chariots and horsemen, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. ¹³ 

Psalms 2:6

2:6 “I myself ¹⁴  have installed ¹⁵  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 72:1

Psalm 72 ¹⁶ 

For ¹⁷  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ¹⁸ 

Grant the king’s son ¹⁹  the ability to make fair decisions! ²⁰ 

Psalms 72:1-2

Psalm 72 ²¹ 

For ²²  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ²³ 

Grant the king’s son ²⁴  the ability to make fair decisions! ²⁵ 

72:2 Then he will judge ²⁶  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ²⁷  equitably.

[2:15]  ¹ tn Or “kingship.”

[2:15]  ² tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.”

[2:15]  ³ tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the Lord it became his.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the days of David approached to die.”

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “commanded.”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days” (i.e., advancing in years).

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Or “garments.”

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “did not know her.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “son of Haggith,” but since this formula usually designates the father (who in this case was David), the translation specifies that David was Adonijah’s father.

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lifting himself up.”

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Or “he acquired for himself.”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”

[2:6]  ¹⁴ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[72:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ¹⁷ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ¹⁹ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ²² tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ²³ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ²⁴ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:2]  ²⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ²⁷ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).