1 Kings 2:23

²¹ So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”

²² King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”

Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.

²⁴ And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”

²⁵ So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
KJV: Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
WEB: Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
ASV: Then king Solomon sware by Jehovah, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life.
DARBY: And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, God do so to me, and more also, Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life!
BLB: And King Solomon swore by YHWH, saying, “Thus may do to me God, and thus may He add, if against his own life Adonijah has not spoken this word.

ÅB: Og kong Salomo svor ved Herren og sa: Herren la det gå meg ille både nå og siden om ikke dette ord skal koste Adonja hans liv.
OTB: Da sverget kong Salomo ved Herren og sa, "Måtte Gud gjøre slik mot meg, ja, enda mer, hvis ikke Adonja har talt dette ord mot sitt eget liv.
B1930: Og kong Salomo svor ved Herren og sa: Herren la det gå mig ille både nu og siden om ikke dette ord skal koste Adonja hans liv.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
Read in context
Psalms 64:8
They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.
Read in context
Psalms 140:9
May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
Read in context
1 Kings 20:10
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
Read in context
2 Samuel 3:35
Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
Read in context
Ecclesiastes 10:12
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
Read in context
Luke 19:22
His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
Read in context
2 Kings 6:31
He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
Read in context