1 Kings 1 · Verse 2

1 Kings 1:2

Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
1 Kings 1:2, King James Version

1 Kings 1:2 in other translations

BSBSo his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”
WEBTherefore his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king. Let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.”
ASVWherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
YLTand his servants say to him, ‘Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, a virgin, and she hath stood before the king, and is to him a companion, and hath lain in thy bosom, and my lord the king hath heat.'
DARBYAnd his servants said to him, Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warm.
BBESo his servants said to him, Let search be made for a young virgin for my lord the king, to take care of him and be waiting on him; and you may take her in your arms, and so my lord the king will be warm.
WebsterWherefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

What does 1 Kings 1:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 1:1-2

1Ki 1:1-4. Abishag Cherishes David in His Extreme Age. 1-2. Now king David was old--He was in the seventieth year of his age (2Sa 5:4, 5). But the wear and tear of a military life, bodily fatigue, and mental care, had prematurely, if we may say it, exhausted the energies of David's strong constitution (1Sa 16:12). In modern Palestine and Egypt the people, owing to the heat of the climate, sleep each in a "separate"…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 1:1-2 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Let there be sought - a young virgin - This was the best remedy which in his state could be prescribed. His nearly exhausted frame would infallibly absorb from her young and healthy body an additional portion of animal heat, and consequently trim and revive the flame of animal life. This is properly, as I have elsewhere expressed it, Friar Bacon's secret for the cure of old age.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 1:1-4

We have David sinking under infirmities. He was chastised for his recent sins, and felt the effects of his former toils and hardships.

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 1:1-4 →

1 Kings 1:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֧אמְרוּvai.Yo.me.ruand they saidH559
ל֣וֹloto him
עֲבָדָ֗יו'a.va.Davservants hisH5650
יְבַקְשׁ֞וּye.vak.Shulet people seekH1245
לַאדֹנִ֤יla.do.Nifor lord myH113
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
נַעֲרָ֣הna.'a.Raha young womanH5291
בְתוּלָ֔הve.tu.Laha virginH1330
וְעָֽמְדָה֙ve.'a.me.Dahand she will standH5975
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
וּתְהִי\־u.te.hi-and let her beH1961
ל֖וֹloof him
סֹכֶ֑נֶתso.Khe.neta nurseH5532
וְשָׁכְבָ֣הve.sha.khe.Vahand she will lieH7901
בְחֵיקֶ֔ךָve.chei.Ke.chain bosom yourH2436
וְחַ֖םve.Chamand it will be warmH2552
לַאדֹנִ֥יla.do.Nito lord myH113
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ\׃ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 1:2

  • Ecclesiastes 4:11

    Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

  • Genesis 16:5

    And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

  • Micah 7:5

    Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

  • 1 Samuel 16:21-22

    And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

  • Deuteronomy 13:6

    If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

  • 2 Samuel 12:3

    But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

  • Deuteronomy 10:8

    At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.

  • 2 Chronicles 29:11

    My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Let there be sought. Heb. Let them seek. a young virgin.Heb. a damsel, a virgin. stand.
De 10:8; 1Sa 16:21,22; 2Ch 29:11
cherish him. Heb. be a cherisher unto him. lie.
Ge 16:5; De 13:6; 2Sa 12:3; Mic 7:5
get heat.
Ec 4:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 1:1

    Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

  • 1 Kings 1:2

    Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

  • 1 Kings 1:3

    So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

Read all of 1 Kings 1

1 Kings 1:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Dijéronle por tanto sus siervos: Busquen á mi señor el rey una moza virgen, para que esté delante del rey, y lo abrigue, y duerma á su lado, y calentará á mi señor el rey.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et ses serviteurs lui dirent: Qu’on cherche pour le roi, mon seigneur, une jeune fille vierge, et qu’elle se tienne devant le roi, et qu’elle le soigne, et qu’elle couche dans ton sein, et que le roi, mon seigneur, se réchauffe.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da sprachen seine Knechte zu ihm: Man suche meinem Herrn, dem König, ein Mädchen, eine Jungfrau; und sie stehe vor dem König und sei ihm eine Pflegerin, und sie schlafe an deinem Busen, daß mein Herr, der König, warm werde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Dixerunt ergo ei servi sui: Quæramus domino nostro regi adolescentulam virginem, et stet coram rege, et foveat eum, dormiatque in sinu suo, et calefaciat dominum nostrum regem.