1 Kings
Chapter One
1 ¶ Now King David
was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get
warm.
2 Therefore his servants said to him, "Let a young woman, a virgin, be
sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her
care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm."
3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel,
and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him;
but the king did not know her.
5 ¶ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will
be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty
men to run before him.
6 (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have
you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after
Absalom.)
7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest,
and they followed and helped Adonijah.
8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei,
Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of
Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's
sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants.
10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon
his brother.
11 ¶ So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Have
you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our
lord does not know it?
12 "Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own
life and the life of your son Solomon.
13 "Go immediately to King David and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord,
O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, "Assuredly your son Solomon
shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah
become king?'
14 "Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will
come in after you and confirm your words."
15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old,
and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.)
16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, "What
is your wish?"
17 Then she said to him, "My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your
maidservant, saying, 'Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he
shall sit on my throne.'
18 "So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king,
you do not know about it.
19 "He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance,
and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the
commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited.
20 "And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you,
that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after
him.
21 "Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers,
that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders."
22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet
also came in.
23 So they told the king, saying, "Here is Nathan the prophet." And
when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face
to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, "My lord, O king, have you said, 'Adonijah shall reign
after me, and he shall sit on my throne'?
25 "For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle
and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, and the commanders
of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking
before him; and they say, 'Long live King Adonijah!'
26 "But he has not invited me-me your servant-nor Zadok the priest, nor
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.
27 "Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told
your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"
28 Then King David answered and said, "Call Bathsheba to me." So she
came into the king's presence and stood before the king.
29 And the king took an oath and said, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed
my life from every distress,
30 "just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, 'Assuredly
Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my
place,' so I certainly will do this day."
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king,
and said, "Let my lord King David live forever!"
32 ¶ And King David said, "Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the
prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada." So they came before the king.
33 The king also said to them, "Take with you the servants of your lord,
and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.
34 "There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over
Israel; and blow the horn, and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'
35 "Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne,
and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over
Israel and Judah."
36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, "Amen! May the
LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
37 "As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with
Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David."
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the
Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David's
mule, and took him to Gihon.
39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed
Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, "Long live King
Solomon!"
40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and
rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.
41 ¶ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they
finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, "Why
is the city in such a noisy uproar?"
42 While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the
priest. And Adonijah said to him, "Come in, for you are a prominent man,
and bring good news."
43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "No! Our lord King David
has made Solomon king.
44 "The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah
the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made
him ride on the king's mule.
45 "So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at
Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an
uproar. This is the noise that you have heard.
46 "Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.
47 "And moreover the king's servants have gone to bless our lord King David,
saying, 'May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He
make his throne greater than your throne.' Then the king bowed himself on the
bed.
48 "Also the king said thus, 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has
given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!'"
49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each
one went his way.
50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of
the horns of the altar.
51 And it was told Solomon, saying, "Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King
Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let
King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with
the sword.'"
52 Then Solomon said, "If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair
of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall
die."
53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and
fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, "Go to your house."
Go to Chapter Two
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