Passage

1 Kings 1.4

Book: 1 Kings · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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. 3. 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."

"5. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom." (1 Kings 1:2-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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.” 3. 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."

"5. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6. His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?” and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom." (1 Kings 1:2-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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} 3. 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."

"5. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ^{be king: Heb. reign} 6. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. ^{at any: Heb. from his days}" (1 Kings 1:2-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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.' 3. 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."

"5. And Adonijah son of Haggith is lifting himself up, saying, 'I do reign;' and he prepareth for himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men running before him, 6. and his father hath not grieved him [all] his days, saying, 'Wherefore thus hast thou done?' and he also [is] of a very good form, and [his mother] bare him after Absalom." (1 Kings 1:2-6, YLT)

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.

TBD
TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

H3045 - yada

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.