Bible Strands
1 Kings 1:52
And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Solomon addresses the messengers who reported Adonijah’s plea from the altar, declaring the conditions under which the fugitive will live or die.
The words — The Hebrew אִם (im) translates “if,” and חַיִל (chayil) means “worth” or “strength,” establishing the conditional framework of the decree.
The thread — The text records this conditional judgment, which parallels the people’s demand to spare Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:45 and the widow’s request for protection in 2 Samuel 14:11, while the link between integrity and safety aligns with Proverbs 13:6.
Why it lands — The passage states that royal mercy depends on proven conduct rather than ritual refuge, requiring the reader to recognize that safety is granted only when character matches the king’s word.
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 Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 14:45 But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
- 2 Samuel 14:11 “Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
- Proverbs 13:6 Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.
- 1 Kings 2:21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
- Job 15:22 He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
- Proverbs 21:12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.
- Acts 27:34 So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
- Luke 21:18 Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
- Matthew 10:30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.