1 Kings 1:27

Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:11-31 Observe Nathan's address to Bathsheba. Let me give thee counsel how to save thy own life, and the life of thy son. Such as this is the counsel Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only that no man take our crown, Re 3:11, but that we save our lives, even the lives of our souls. David made a solemn declaration of his firm cleaving to his former resolution, that Solomon should be his successor. Even the recollection of the distresses from which the Lord redeemed him, increased his comfort, inspired his hopes, and animated him to his duty, under the decays of nature and the approach of death.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hast thou said - Thou hast said. In the original no question is asked. Nathan assumes, as far as words go, that the king has made this declaration. He wishes to draw forth a disclaimer.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

21. I and my son … shall be counted offenders—that is, slain, according to the barbarous usage of the East towards all who are rivals to the throne.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thou hast not showed it unto thy servant; who, having been an instrument in delivering God’s message to thee concerning thy successor, might reasonably expect that if the king had changed his mind, or God had since made some revelation contrary to the former, thou wouldst have acquainted me with it, as being both a prophet of the Lord, and one whom thou hast always found faithful to thee, and to whom thou hast used to communicate thy secret counsels.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Is this thing done by my lord the king,.... With his knowledge and consent, and by his orders:

and thou hast not showed it unto thy servant; meaning himself, who had brought him a message from the Lord, signifying that Solomon should succeed him; and therefore if that had been countermanded, it seemed strange that he should not have acquainted him with it: or "to thy servants", as the Arabic version; for the word has a plural ending, though pointed as singular; and so it may mean not only himself, but the rest of David's faithful servants that were about him at court, as Kimchi observes:

who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? if he had altered his mind, or had had any direction from the Lord to make any change, he wondered at it that he should neither acquaint him, nor any of his trusty friends, with it.

Geneva Study Bible

Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy {m} servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

(m) Meaning, that in such affairs he should undertake nothing unless he had consulted with the Lord.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

27. shewed it unto thy servant] There is a various reading, ‘thy servants,’ but the A. V. gives the better sense. There was a special reason why Nathan should know of all that was done in respect of the succession, which did not apply to the rest of David’s court.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 27. - Is this thing done [אִם = an, or perhaps, num, "Is it then the case that," etc.] by [lit., from with] my lord the king [i.e., with his privity and by his appointment], and thou hast not showed it unto thy servant [Hebrews "made thy servant know." Nathan submits that he has a strong claim (2 Samuel 12:25) to be informed, should there be any change in the king's plans], who should sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him? [Same expression as in ver. 20. The repetition was well calculated to impress upon the king the importance of nominating a successor at once. 1 Kings 1:27

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

While Bathsheba was still speaking, Nathan came. When he was announced to the king, Bathsheba retired, just as afterwards Nathan went away when the king had Bathsheba called in again (cf. 1 Kings 1:28 with 1 Kings 1:32). This was done, not to avoid the appearance of a mutual arrangement (Cler., Then., etc.), but for reasons of propriety, inasmuch as, in audiences granted by the king to his wife or one of his counsellors, no third person ought to be present unless the king required his attendance. Nathan confirmed Bathsheba's statement, commencing thus: "My lord king, thou hast really said, Adonijah shall be king after me...? for he has gone down to-day, and has prepared a feast, ... and they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, Long live king Adonijah!" And he then closed by asking, "Has this taken place on the part of my lord the king, and thou hast not shown thy servants (Nathan, Zadok, Benaiah, and Solomon) who is to sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him?" The indirect question introduced with אם is not merely an expression of modesty, but also of doubt, whether what had occurred had emanated from the king and he had not shown it to his servants.