17 Then he said , "Please speak to Solomon the king , for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife ." 18 Bathsheba said , "Very well ; I will speak to the king for you." 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah . And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne ; then he had a throne set for the king's mother , and she sat on his right . 20 Then she said , "I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask , my mother , for I will not refuse you." 21 So she said , " Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife ." 22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother , "And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah ? Ask for him also the kingdom - for he is my older brother -even for him, for Abiathar the priest , and for Joab the son of Zeruiah !" 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord , saying , "May God do so to me and more also , if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life . 24 "Now therefore, as the Lord lives , who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and who has made me a house as He promised , surely Adonijah shall be put to death today ." 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; and he fell upon him so that he died .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 2:17-25
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.