1 Kings 2:15
ESV
He said, "You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother 's, for it was his from the Lord.
NIV
"As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord.
NASB
So he said, 'You yourself know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel intended for me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.
CSB
"You know the kingship was mine," he said. "All Israel expected me to be king, but then the kingship was turned over to my brother, for the Lord gave it to him.
NLT
He replied, 'As you know, the kingdom was rightfully mine; all Israel wanted me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and the kingdom went to my brother instead; for that is the way the Lord wanted it.
KJV
And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord.
NKJV
Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord.
What does 1 Kings 2:15 mean?
It's often fascinating to hear different individual perspectives about the same events. David, Nathan, Bathsheba, and Solomon all viewed Adonijah's attempt to have himself declared king as a corrupt play for the throne of Israel. This was a crime worthy of death (1 Kings 1).Now we hear Adonijah's view, biased though it might be. He was fully convinced he would be the next king over Israel, likely because he was the oldest of David's remaining eligible sons. Kingship often, though not always, passed to the oldest. In addition, Adonijah believed that most of Israel's people expected him to be king. He doesn't say so here, but even two of David's closest allies, Joab and Abiathar, the leader of the military and the keeper of the ark of the covenant, supported him (1 Kings 1:7). With no official declaration of whom the ailing David wanted to succeed him (1 Kings 1:1–4), why wouldn't Adonijah expect to be king?
That's the story he tells himself. Now, he at least claims to understand that the Lord wanted Solomon to be king. Whether or not Adonijah believed this is impossible to know.
Adonijah's goal is to take David's concubine Abishag as his wife (1 Kings 2:17). Though David never slept with her, it's still an act of dominance over David, and because Solomon inherits David's wives and concubines, Solomon. By saying he believes God planned for Solomon to be king, Adonijah may be trying to lower Solomon's defenses enough to secure Abishag for himself. But walking through the streets with King David's last concubine on his arm might also reignite the support of the people who wanted him to be king.
