"And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to tell them who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him.'" — Bathsheba invokes the nation (*`eynay kol-Yisra'el 'aleikha*) and their expectation that David will *declare* the succession. The phrase *le-hagid lahem mi yeshev 'al-kise adi ha-melekh acharav* (to tell them who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him) frames the succession declaration as David's *solemn obligation*. The repetition of *melekh* (king) emphasizes David's reigning authority and thus his responsibility to exercise it in designating his successor. The appeal to national attention transforms a private moment into a constitutional crisis—David's silence or inaction will be interpreted as consent to Adonijah's claim. The rhetoric is masterful: Bathsheba positions David as accountable to Israel's witnesses.

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