The Meaning of 1 Kings 1:21 Explained

1 Kings 1:21

KJV: Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

YLT: and it hath been, when my lord the king lieth with his fathers, that I have been, I and my son Solomon -- reckoned sinners.'

Darby: Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.

ASV: Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord  the king  shall sleep  with his fathers,  that I and my son  Solomon  shall be counted offenders. 

What does 1 Kings 1:21 Mean?

Context Summary

1Kings 1:15-27 - Learning The King's Will
The attempt of the usurper was met and defeated through Nathan's prompt action, and by the concerted appeal that he and Bathsheba made to the king, who seems to have sunk into premature old age. Bathsheba and David probably met for the last time on this dark day, and each of them must have remembered the solemn promise given them years before, through Nathan, who was still with them as friend and counselor. Much had happened since, but, amid all the changes in human affairs, the word of God is immutable and the promise of 1 Chronicles 22:9 must stand.
Probably only Bathsheba and Nathan knew of that solemn compact; and, knowing it, they at once took action. It is not enough that God should make a promise to His people; they must claim its fulfillment and put themselves at His disposal, that it may be fulfilled through them. The ancient prediction that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord is true, but we must pray for and hasten its advent.
1Kings 1:1-53 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1Kings 1

1  Abishag cherishes David in his extreme age
5  Adonijah, David's darling, usurps the kingdom
11  By the council of Nathan
15  Bathsheba moves the king
22  And Nathan seconds her
28  David renews his oath to Bathsheba
32  Solomon, by David's appointment,
38  being anointed king by Zadok and Nathan, the people triumph
41  Jonathan bringing the news, Adonijah's guests fly
50  Adonijah, flying to the horns of the altar, is dismissed by Solomon

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 1:21 mean?

And Otherwise it will come to pass when rests my lord the king with his fathers that will be counted I and my son Solomon as sinful
וְהָיָ֕ה כִּשְׁכַ֥ב אֲדֹנִֽי־ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ עִם־ אֲבֹתָ֑יו וְהָיִ֗יתִי אֲנִ֛י וּבְנִ֥י שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה חַטָּאִֽים

וְהָיָ֕ה  And  Otherwise  it  will  come  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כִּשְׁכַ֥ב  when  rests 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
אֲדֹנִֽי־  my  lord 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אָדֹון  
Sense: firm, strong, lord, master.
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲבֹתָ֑יו  his  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וְהָיִ֗יתִי  that  will  be  counted 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
וּבְנִ֥י  and  my  son 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה  Solomon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
חַטָּאִֽים  as  sinful 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חַטָּא  
Sense: sinners adj.