1 Kings 1:11
ESV
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it?
NIV
Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it?
NASB
Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, 'Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it?
CSB
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?
NLT
Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, 'Haven’t you heard that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, has made himself king, and our lord David doesn’t even know about it?
KJV
Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
NKJV
So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it?
What does 1 Kings 1:11 mean?
Nathan the prophet is trying to stop a civil war before it starts. He needs David to install Solomon as king. God chose Solomon to follow David and to build the temple (1 Chronicles 22:9–10). Of all the people in the kingdom, Bathsheba will be Nathan's strongest ally. Adonijah seems to know he does not have Solomon's support (1 Kings 1:10). If Adonijah becomes king, both Solomon and Bathsheba's lives are in danger (1 Kings 1:12).David has followed the tradition of accumulating many wives and concubines. His first wife, Ahinoam, had Amnon, who was murdered by Absalom (2 Samuel 13:28–29). His second, Abigail, had Chileab, who apparently either died young or inherited Abigail's first husband's estate (1 Samuel 25). Maacah had Absalom, who died rebelling against David (2 Samuel 18:14–15). Haggith had Adonijah. A few other women had sons before David married Bathsheba (2 Samuel 3:2–5).
Bathsheba conceived five sons. The first died as a result of God's judgment against David's sin (2 Samuel 12:14–18). It appears three of her sons, Shimea, Shobab, and Nathan, support their half-brother Adonijah in his attempt to take the crown (1 Kings 1:9; 1 Chronicles 3:5). David has nine more sons from his wives and even more children from his concubines.
This stockpile of sons and wives created the tense situation now facing the kingdom. David is allowed to have more than one wife, but that's not meant to be an endless stream. The Mosaic law specifically told kings not to accumulate too many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). David's lack of self-control has already led to rape, murder, and rebellion within his children. When Solomon takes 1000 wives and concubines, it will draw the nation into idolatry, it will never recover from (1 Kings 11:1–8).
