1 Kings 1
1 Now King David was old and far on in years; and though they put covers over him, his body was cold.
Now king David was old, stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not become warm.
2 So his servants said to him, Let search be made for a young virgin for my lord the king, to take care of him and be waiting on him; and you may take her in your arms, and so my lord the king will be warm.
Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let them seek out for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and let her be an attendant on him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may become warm.
3 So after searching through all the land of Israel for a fair young girl, they saw Abishag the Shunammite, and took her to the king.
So they sought for a fair maiden throughout all the territory of Israel; and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 Now she was very beautiful; and she took care of the king, waiting on him at all times; but the king had no connection with her.
And the maiden was exceedingly fair; and she became an attendant on the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.
5 Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, lifting himself up in pride, said, I will become king; and he made ready his carriages of war and his horsemen, with fifty runners to go before him.
And Adoniyah the son of Chaggith exalted himself, saying, I shall be king: and he procured himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men who ran before him.
6 Now all his life his father had never gone against him or said to him, Why have you done so? and he was a very good-looking man, and younger than Absalom.
And his father had never grieved him in all his life by saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was of a very goodly form; and his mother had born him after Abshalom.
7 And he had talk with Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they were on his side and gave him their support.
And he had conferences with Joab the son of Zeruyah, and with Ebyathar the priest: and they, following Adoniyah, helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei, and David's men of war did not take the side of Adonijah.
But Zadok the priest, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and Nathan the prophet, and Shim'i, and Re'i, and the mighty men that belonged to David, were not with Adoniyah.
9 Then Adonijah put to death sheep and oxen and fat beasts by the stone of Zoheleth, by En-rogel; and he sent for all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants, to come to him:
And Adoniyah slaughtered sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone Zocheleth, which is by 'En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants;
10 But he did not send for Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the other men of war and Solomon his brother.
But Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he invited not.
11 Then Nathan said to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, Has it not come to your ears that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king without the knowledge of David our lord?
And Nathan spoke unto Bath-sheba' the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adoniyah the son of Chaggith is become king, and [that] David our lord knoweth it not?
12 So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon.
And now come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thy own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
13 Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king?
Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thy hand-maid, saying, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne? why then is Adoniyah become king?
14 And while you are still talking there with the king, see, I will come in after you and say that your story is true.
And, lo, while thou shalt be yet speaking there with the king, I myself will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
15 Then Bath-sheba went into the king's room; now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on him.
And Bath-sheba' went in unto the king into the chamber, and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering unto the king.
16 And Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour. And he said, What is your desire?
And Bath-sheba' bowed, and prostrated herself unto the king: and the king said, What wouldst thou?
17 And she said to him, My lord, you took an oath by the Lord your God and gave your word to your servant, saying, Truly, Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom.
And she said unto him, My lord, thou thyself didst swear by the Lord thy God unto thy hand-maid, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne.
18 And now, see, Adonijah has made himself king without my lord's knowledge;
And now, behold, Adoniyah is become king; and now, my lord, O king, thou knowest it not:
19 And has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the captain of the army; but he has not sent for Solomon your servant.
And he hath slaughtered oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath invited all the sons of the king, and Ebyathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but Solomon thy servant hath he not invited.
20 And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him.
And as for thee, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, to tell them, who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 For as things are, it will come about, when my lord the king is sleeping with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son will be made outlaws.
Otherwise it would come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon may be counted offenders.
22 And while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
And, lo, while she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23 And they said to the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he went down on his face on the earth.
And they told the king, saying, Behold, here is Nathan the prophet: and when he was come in before the king, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, O my lord king, have you said, Adonijah is to be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom?
And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou then said, Adoniyah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
25 Because today he has gone down and has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the king's sons to come to him, with the captains of the army and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting before him and crying, Long life to King Adonijah!
For he is gone down this day, and hath slaughtered oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Ebyathar the priest: and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and they say, Long live king Adoniyah.
26 But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not sent for.
But as for me, me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and thy servant Solomon, hath he not invited.
27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, without giving word to your servants who was to be placed on my lord the king's seat after him?
Can it be that this hath been done by order of my lord the king, and thou hast not informed thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
28 Then King David in answer said, Send for Bath-sheba to come to me. And she came in and took her place before the king.
Then answered king David, and said, Call me Bath-sheba'; and she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
29 And the king took an oath, and said, By the living Lord, who has been my saviour from all my troubles,
And the king swore and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
30 As I took an oath to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Certainly Solomon your son will become king after me, seated on my seat in my place; so will I do this day.
Even as I have sworn unto thee by the Lord the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne in my stead: even so will I certainly do this day.
31 Then Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour, and said, May my lord King David go on living for ever.
Then did Bath-sheba' bow herself with her face to the earth, and prostrate herself unto the king; and she said, May my lord, the king David, live for ever!
32 And King David said, Send for Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
And king David said, Call unto me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada'. And they came before the king.
33 And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and put Solomon my son on my beast, yes, mine, and take him down to Gihon;
And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and conduct him down to Gichon:
34 And there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him to make him king over Israel; and sounding the horn say, Long life to King Solomon!
And let Zadok the priest with Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel; and blow ye with the cornet, and say, Long live king Solomon.
35 Then come up after him and he will come in and take his place on the seat of my kingdom; for he is to be king in my place, and I have given orders that he is to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
Then shall ye go up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; and he shall be king in my stead: and him have I ordained to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36 And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answering the king, said, So be it: and may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so.
And Benayahu the son of Yehoyada' answered the king, and said, Amen: May thus say the Eternal the God of my lord the king.
37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon and make the seat of his authority greater than that of my lord King David.
As the Eternal hath been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my lord the king David.
38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and put Solomon on King David's beast and took him to Gihon.
Thereupon Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and the Kerethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and conducted him to Gichon.
39 And Zadok the priest took the vessel of oil out of the Tent, and put the holy oil on Solomon. And when the horn was sounded, all the people said, Long life to King Solomon!
And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew with the cornet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon.
40 And all the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and they were glad with great joy, so that the earth was shaking with the sound.
And all the people went up after him, and the people blew on flutes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth was rent at their noise.
41 And it came to the ears of Adonijah and all the guests who were with him, when their meal was ended. And Joab, hearing the sound of the horn, said, What is the reason of this noise as if the town was worked up?
And Adoniyah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had just finished eating: and when Joab heard the sound of the cornet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city in an uproar?
42 And while the words were on his lips, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, came; and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a man of good faith and the news which you have for us will be good.
And while he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Ebyathar the priest came in: and Adoniyah said [unto him], Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and must bring good tidings.
43 And Jonathan, answering, said to Adonijah, Not so, but our lord King David has made Solomon king:
And Jonathan answered and said to Adoniyah, Alas, no; our lord king David hath made Solomon king;
44 And he sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they put him on the king's beast:
And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and the Kerethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule;
45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him and made him king in Gihon; and they came back from there with joy, and the town was all worked up. This is the noise which has come to your ears.
And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him as king on the Gichon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, and the city hath been set in commotion. This is the noise that ye have heard.
46 And now Solomon is seated on the seat of the kingdom.
And Solomon hath also sat on the kingly throne.
47 And the king's servants came to our lord King David, blessing him and saying, May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and the seat of his authority greater than your seat; and the king was bent low in worship on his bed.
And also the king's servants are come to bless our lord king David, saying, May God make the name of Solomon more famous than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king hath bowed himself upon the bed.
48 Then the king said, May the God of Israel be praised, who has given one of my seed to be king in my place this day and has let my eyes see it.
And also thus hath the king said, Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath given [me] this day one who sitteth on my throne, while my eyes see it.
49 And all the guests of Adonijah got up in fear and went away, every man to his place.
And all the guests that were with Adoniyah were terrified, and rose up, and went, every man, on his own way.
50 And Adonijah himself was full of fear because of Solomon; and he got up and went to the altar, and put his hands on its horns.
And Adoniyah was afraid because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
51 And they gave Solomon word of it, saying, See, Adonijah goes in such fear of King Solomon, that he has put his hands on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon first give me his oath that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.
And it was told unto Solomon, saying, Behold, Adoniyah feareth king Solomon; and, behold, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
52 And Solomon said, If he is seen to be a man of good faith, not a hair of him will be touched; but if any wrongdoing is seen in him, he is to be put to death.
And Solomon said, If he will become a worthy man, there shall not a hair of his fall to the earth; but if any wrong shall be found on him, then shall he die.
53 So King Solomon sent, and they took him down from the altar. And he came and gave honour to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.
So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar; and he came and bowed himself to king Solomon; and Solomon said unto him, Go to thy house.
