"So King Solomon swore an oath to the LORD, saying, 'God do so to me and more also if Adonijah has not spoken this word at the cost of his life.'" — Solomon invokes a divine oath (*va-yishba' ha-melekh be-YHVH*) and pronounces a curse formula (*asher ya'aseh Elohim li ve-yosef koh*): *ki lo-devar asher diber Adoniyahu 'attah im-be-nafsho* (this word that Adonijah has spoken is at the cost of his life). The *oath* transforms Solomon's response from mere political caution to *solemn judgment*. The curse—"thus may God do to me and more if..."—is the ancient formula for binding oath. Solomon uses it to declare that Adonijah's *request itself* constitutes death-sentence grounds. The logic is: Adonijah's request for Abishag reveals he still harbors dynastic ambitions, which violate the conditional clemency Solomon granted him in 1 Kings 1:52.

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