16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me." "You may make it," she said.
16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny
16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me." She said to him, "Speak."
16 So now I have one request to ask of you; please don't refuse me." "Go ahead, ask," she said.
16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me." And she said to him, "Say it."
16 So now I have just one favor to ask of you. Please don't turn me down." "What is it?" she asked.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 2:16
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.