1 Kings 12:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever."

NIV: They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."

NASB: Then they spoke to him, saying, 'If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.'

CSB: They replied, "Today if you will be a servant to this people and serve them, and if you respond to them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever."

NLT: The older counselors replied, 'If you are willing to be a servant to these people today and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.'

KJV: And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

NKJV: And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

This was originally the first half of a combined text. First Kings records the end of David's reign and the rule of Solomon. After this, the kingdom is split in two. The northern nation of Israel no longer submits to the king of the southern nation, called Judah. The prophet Elijah first appears in this book. The kings mostly fail to honor the Lord. They participate in idolatry and other sins. This will eventually result in their conquest and exile, as depicted throughout the books of Chronicles.