Passage

1 Kings 1.2

Book: 1 Kings · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

2. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4. And the damsel was very fair; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not. (1 Kings 1:1-4, ASV)

WEB

Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm.

2. Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king. Let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.”

So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4. The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and served him; but the king didn’t know her intimately. (1 Kings 1:1-4, WEB)

KJV

Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. ^{stricken: Heb. entered into days}

2. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. ^{Let there: Heb. Let them seek} ^{a young: Heb. a damsel, a virgin} ^{cherish: Heb. be a cherisher unto him}

So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not. (1 Kings 1:1-4, KJV)

YLT

And king David [is] old, entering into days, and they cover him with garments, and he hath no heat,

2. and his servants say to him, 'Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, a virgin, and she hath stood before the king, and is to him a companion, and hath lain in thy bosom, and my lord the king hath heat.'

And they seek a fair young woman in all the border of Israel, and find Abishag the Shunammite, and bring her in to the king, 4. and the young woman [is] very very fair, and she is to the king a companion, and serveth him, and the king hath not known her. (1 Kings 1:1-4, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

H1330 - bethulah, bethulah, Strong's H1330
H0113 - adon, adon, Strong's H0113
H5650 - ebed, ebed, Strong's H5650

Quoted in

Lexicon:

H1330 - bethulah

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.