1 Kings 2:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said, "Please ask King Solomon — he will not refuse you — to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

NIV: So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

NASB: Then he said, 'Please speak to Solomon the king—for he will not refuse you—that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.'

CSB: He replied, "Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife."

NLT: He replied, 'Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to let me marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem.'

KJV: And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

NKJV: Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”

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.

Accessed 5/24/2026 8:40:37 AM