22. And dude! Still she was speaking with the king and Nathan the prophet came.
23. And it was reported to the king, “dude! Nathan the Prophet.” And he entered before the king and prostrated to the king with his face upon the ground.
24. And Nathan said, “my lord, o king, have you said Adonias shall reign after me? And he shall sit upon my throne.
25. “For he came down today and sacrifices calves and lambs and sheep in multitude and called all the sons of the king and the officers o the army and Abiathar the priest and dude! They are eating and drinking before him and saying, ‘long live king Adonias!’
26. “And me, your servant, and Sadok the priest and Banaias son of Iodae and Solomon, your servant, he did not call.
27. “If through my lord the king this thing was done and you have not made (it) known to your servant, who will sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him?”

Comments on the Text

This week is easy, since there are really only two differences between the Hebrew and the Greek. Verse 23 opens with a singular passive in the Greek, whereas it is a plural active in the Hebrew. That is, the Hebrew says, “they reported” and the Greek says, “it was reported.” That would be a satisfactory translation, but inconsistent with the translation technique generally applied in this portion of Kings. The only other difference is in verse 27: the Hebrew consonantal text reads the plural “servants” and not the singular “servant.” That is, the Greek refers only to Nathan, whereas the Hebrew includes Nathan within a group of servants who were not informed about the king’s wishes. The Greek presumes that Nathan alone should be the executor of the king’s desire, but the Hebrew consonantal text thinks of a group that will enact. The Hebrew text appears to be a correction toward the end of the chapter, in which Nathan and Zadok anoint Solomon to be king with the support of Benaiahu and others. One helpful note here: the Masorah parva records the singular as the correct reading. That also favors following the Greek over the Hebrew consonantal text.