"And Solomon said, 'If he will show himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.'" — Solomon's response is shrewd political mercy: *im yihye ish hayil, lo-yipol me-saro 'artsah, ve-im-ra'ah timmatse' bo, vammet* (if he proves a worthy man, not a hair of him shall fall to earth; if wickedness is found in him, he dies). The conditional *if* establishes that Adonijah is *on probation*—his life is spared provisionally, contingent on future behavior. The phrase *ish hayil* (a worthy man) is the same term used for Benaiah and Jonathan; it suggests moral and political reliability. The hyperbolic promise *lo-yipol me-saro 'artsah* (not a hair shall fall) is the opposite extreme from death—absolute personal security. Yet the second condition—*if wickedness is found in him*—remains ominously vague and expansive. Solomon's answer is merciful yet threatening; it grants conditional clemency but retains absolute judgment over Adonijah's future.

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