1 Kings 1:20

1Ki 1:20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel [are] upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

Ver. 20. That thou shouldest tell them, &c.] This some princes love not to do, - Queen Elizabeth for instance. A false Jesuit wrote, that she wished she might after her death hang a while in the air, to see what scuffling there would be for her kingdom. Os durum! fowl mouth!

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne--When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded. But frequently they designated long before their death which of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia, as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same right in modern and even recent times.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. That thou shouldest tell - who shall sit on the throne] This was a monarchy neither hereditary nor elective; the king simply named his successor. This obtained less or more, anciently, in most countries.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. And thou, my lord, &c.] Here the variation is the other way, and now is read for thou. Both these changes seem to render the sentences more emphatic, especially as in this verse the queen is coming to the close of her argument and wishes to move David to take action in the matter at once.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And thou, my lord, O king,.... As for thee, or what concerns thee, or is incumbent on thee, will appear from the expectations of the people:

the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him; this she said, to dissipate any fears that might possess his mind on hearing what Adonijah had done, that the people in general had assented to it, and encouraged him to it; whereas the body of the people were waiting to hear what was the will and determination of David: for they not only considered him as having a power to name a successor, as was afterwards done by Rehoboam, but as one that had the mind of God revealed to him who should be his successor, to which they should pay a regard.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tell them who shall sit on the throne - Side by side with what may be called the natural right of hereditary succession, there existed in the old world, and especially in the East, a right, if not of absolutely designating a successor, yet at any rate of choosing one among several sons. Thus, Cyrus designated Cambyses; and Darius designated Xerxes; and a still more absolute right of nomination was exercised by some of the Roman emperors.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thee. Adonias boasts that all Israel was on his side, chap. ii. 15. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The eyes of all Israel are upon thee; the generality of the people are in suspense, whether Adonijah’s practices be with thy consent or no, and wait for thy sentence, which they will readily embrace.

Who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king; she speaks only in general, as owning my king’s prerogative to give the crown to which of his sons he pleased, if he had not restrained himself by his oath to Solomon.

After him, i.e. after thy death; whereby she taxeth Adonijah’s ambition, who usurped the crown whilst his father lived.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And thou instead of hTaw, the Chald., Syr., and Vulg., with many MSS, read hTw "and now;" but this looks like an emendation, and "proclivi lectioni praestat ardua. " Similarly, the second "now" in ver. 18 appears as "thou" in 200 MSS. These variations are of very little consequence, but the received text, in both cases, is somewhat the more spirited my lord, O king the repetition (see vers. 18, 21, 24, 27) illustrates the profound deference and court paid to the Hebrew monarch (see on ver. 16), especially when we remember that these are the words of a wife, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee (cf. 1Ki_2:15) that thou shouldest ten them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. This shows that there was no "right of primogeniture." The kings of the East have always designated their successor amongst their sons. "Alyattes designated Croesus; Cyrus designated Cambyses, and Darius designated Xerxes" (Rawlinson). "The Shah of Persia, at the eginning of this century, had sixty sons, all brought up by their mothers, with the hope of succeeding" (Holier, quoted by Stanley). And the kings of Israel claimed and exercised a similar right. (2Ch_11:22 2Ch_21:3) And she arose at midnight rather, in the middle, i.e. , dead of the night. The sleeper could not know it was midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my besom.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Bathsheba continues to speak to King David.

the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting

Here "eyes" refers to the people. Here "the eyes ... are on you" is an idiom that means the people are waiting expectantly. AT: "all the people of Israel are waiting expectantly" (See: Synecdoche and Idiom)

will sit on the throne

Sitting on the throne is a metonym for being king. See how you translated similar words in 1 Kings 1:13. AT: "will be king"

when my master the king sleeps with his fathers

Bathsheba speaks to King David as if she were speaking about him to show that she respects him. AT: "when you sleep with your fathers" (See: Pronouns)

sleeps with his fathers

This is a polite way of saying "dies." (See: Euphemism)

I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals

This can be translated in active form. AT: "the new king will regard my son Solomon and me as criminals" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Israel

asleep

ancestor

crime

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.