1 Kings 1:12
ESV
Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
NIV
Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
NASB
So now come, please let me give you advice, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.
CSB
Now please come and let me advise you. Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.
NLT
If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice.
KJV
Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
NKJV
Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
What does 1 Kings 1:12 mean?
Nathan has come to Bathsheba to make sure she survives, and her son becomes king.David is notoriously bad at disciplining his sons. When his eldest son Absalom raped his own half-sister Tamar, David effectively did nothing. When Tamar's full brother Absalom murdered her attacker, David again did nothing (2 Samuel 13). David's permissiveness then allowed Absalom to set up a civil war. And in the heat of battle, David commanded the army to spare his traitorous son's life (2 Samuel 15:7–12; 18:5).
Now, David's son Adonijah is putting on a coronation ceremony for himself. This directly defies David's wishes—and God's plan—that Solomon will be king (1 Kings 1:5–10). Nathan needs to figure out what will motivate David to act against his own son.
It was common practice during this era in the ancient Near East for a new king to quickly execute every other person who might have any claim to the throne. Jehu will destroy Ahab's family (2 Kings 9:1—10:11). Queen Athaliah will try to kill her remaining family (2 Kings 11:1). Herod the Great will not only murder his own sons, but he will also destroy the baby boys of Bethlehem when he hears the Messiah has been born (Matthew 2:16–18).
Adonijah has invited his brothers to his coronation. If they swear submission to him, he won't kill them or their families when he becomes king (1 Kings 1:9–10). But he doesn't invite Solomon. Apparently, he knows David wants Solomon to be king. Solomon must die for Adonijah's kingdom to be established. And if Solomon's life is in danger, so is his mother's.
Bathsheba immediately agrees to Nathan's plan to make sure David knows what's going on.
