Bible Strands
1 Kings 1:20
And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Bathsheba addresses the aging King David, pressing him to publicly name Solomon as heir before Adonijah’s coronation feast concludes.
The words — עֵינֵי כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל (‘ēnê kāl-Yiśrā’ēl) means “eyes of all [Israel],” and לְהַגִּיד (lə-haggîd) means “to tell,” framing succession as a public declaration rather than a private decision.
The thread — The explicit divine choice of Solomon for the throne appears in 1 Chronicles 28:5, while the verse’s emphasis on authoritative speech mirrors the prophetic inspiration noted in 2 Samuel 23:2.
Why it lands — It requires the reigning monarch to resolve succession through immediate, transparent action, preventing civil strife by placing the burden of declaration on the king rather than on factional pressure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 23:2 The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.
- 1 Chronicles 22:8 but this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me.
- 1 Chronicles 28:5 And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 28:10 Consider now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:1 Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
- 2 Chronicles 20:12 Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
- Psalms 25:15 My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
- Psalms 123:2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God until He shows us mercy.
- Zechariah 3:9 See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.