[throw1234651234]

Likely that the king owns every man and losing manpower sucks, so if the husband wants to save his wife, the king can choose to save his servant who committed adultery.

[Wowfunhappy]

So, uh, can or can't the wife's husband choose to spare her?

[magicsmoke]

If the wife's husband spares his wife, then the king would spare the person that committed adultery with her. Otherwise they would both die.

[Wowfunhappy]

Thank you, that makes sense now. The "king's servant" was throwing me off—I guess the idea is that everyone is a servant of the king.

[oldgradstudent]

I wonder if subject would have been a better translation than servant.