21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah."
21 She said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife."
21 She said, "Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as his wife."
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife."
21 "Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem," she replied.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 2:21
Commentary on 1 Kings 2:12-25
(Read 1 Kings 2:12-25)
Solomon received Bathsheba with all the respect that was owing to a mother; but let none be asked for that which they ought not to grant. It ill becomes a good man to prefer a bad request, or to appear in a bad cause. According to eastern customs it was plain that Adonijah sought to be king, by his asking for Abishag as his wife, and Solomon could not be safe while he lived. Ambitious, turbulent spirits commonly prepare death for themselves. Many a head has been lost by catching at a crown.