1 Kings 1:53
ESV
So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, "Go to your house."
NIV
Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, "Go to your home."
NASB
So King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, 'Go to your house.'
CSB
So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, "Go to your home."
NLT
So King Solomon summoned Adonijah, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and bowed respectfully before King Solomon, who dismissed him, saying, 'Go on home.'
KJV
So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
NKJV
So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
What does 1 Kings 1:53 mean?
David crowned Solomon king at the same time David's older son was throwing his own coronation celebration. When Adonijah hears his kingship is illegitimate, he runs to the tabernacle in Gibeon and grabs hold of the horns on the altar where the priests sacrifice for the sins and the thanks of the people. Messengers bring word to Solomon, and the new king sends word that Adonijah can come in peace (1 Kings 1:49–52).In the mirrored description of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 1—11), the first level is complete: The kingdom is unified. David's son Adonijah tried to crown himself, but thanks to Bathsheba and Nathan, Solomon is rightly king. Adonijah swears allegiance to Solomon, and Solomon forgives him, possibly confining him to his home. But Solomon has a condition: Adonijah must gain control over his natural desires and continue to support Solomon as his king (1 Kings 1:50–52).
In the next level of the chiasm, Solomon must hold what he has (1 Kings 2:1–46). David counsels Solomon to strike hard, to dispatch the men who betrayed him and David. David specifically mentions his nephew and General Joab and Shimei, the Benjaminite who cursed David (1 Kings 2:5–9).
But after David dies, Solomon is forced to start with his own brother. Adonijah will ask Bathsheba to convince Solomon to give him Abishag, David's concubine (1 Kings 1:1–4), as his wife. Bathsheba is naïve and agrees. Solomon knows what the request means. To take a king's wives and concubines is to declare dominance over the king (2 Samuel 16:20–22). The first task Solomon gives to his new military commander, Benaiah, is to execute Adonijah (1 Kings 2:13–25).
