1 Kings 1

¹Now King David had grown old, had come into the days, and they covered him with garments, but he could not get warm.

²And his servants said to him: Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, a virgin; she shall stand before the king and be his attendant, and shall lie in your bosom, and my lord the king will be warm.

³And they sought a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and they brought her to the king.

⁴And the young woman was exceedingly beautiful, and she served as attendant to the king and ministered to him; but the king did not know her.

⁵Now Adonijah son of Haggith was exalting himself, saying, 'I will reign.' And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men running before him.

⁶And his father had never crossed him at any time by saying, 'Why have you done this?' He was also very handsome in appearance, and she bore him after Absalom.

⁷And his words were with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they helped after Adonijah.

⁸But Zadok the priest and Benaiah son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fatted animals beside the Stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the sons of the king, and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king.

¹⁰But Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the mighty warriors and Solomon his brother he did not invite.

¹¹And Nathan said to Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, saying, 'Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, while our lord David does not know?'

¹²And now, go; let me counsel you counsel, I pray, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Go and come in to King David and say to him: Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your maidservant, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit on my throne? Why then has Adonijah become king?

¹⁴Look, while you are still speaking there with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.

¹⁵And Bathsheba came to the king in the chamber, and the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.

¹⁶And Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself before the king, and the king said, 'What is it for you?'

¹⁷And she said to him, 'My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant that Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.'

¹⁸And now, behold, Adonijah has become king; and now my lord the king does not know of it.

¹⁹And he sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and he called all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he did not call.

²⁰And you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

²¹And it shall be, when my lord the king lies down with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted as offenders.

²²And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came.

²³And they told the king, saying, 'Behold, Nathan the prophet.' And he came before the king and bowed to the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴And Nathan said, 'My lord the king, did you say, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?'

²⁵For he went down today and sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance; and he has invited all the sons of the king and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and there they are, eating and drinking before him, and they said, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

²⁶But to me, your servant, and to Zadok the priest and to Benaiah son of Jehoiada and to Solomon your servant, he did not call.

²⁷Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not made known to your servants, to your servant, who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him?

²⁸Then King David answered and said, 'Summon Bathsheba to me.' And she came before the king and stood before the king.

²⁹And the king swore and said: As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

³⁰For just as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne in my place, so indeed will I do this very day.

³¹Then Bathsheba bowed low, face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king, and said, 'Long live my lord King David forever!'

³²And King David said: Call for me Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

³³And the king said to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and mount Solomon my son upon the mule that is mine, and bring him down to Gihon.'

³⁴And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him there as king over Israel, and you shall blow the shofar and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

³⁵And you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and shall reign in my place; him I have appointed to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

³⁶And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, 'Amen! So may the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say.'

³⁷Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.

³⁸And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down, and they mounted Solomon upon the mule of King David, and they brought him to Gihon.

³⁹And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon; and they blew the shofar, and all the people said, 'Long live King Solomon!'

⁴⁰And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy, and the earth split open at the sound of them.

⁴¹And Adonijah and all the invited who were with him heard, while they had just finished eating; and Joab heard the sound of the shofar, and said, 'Why is the sound of the city in tumult?'

⁴²While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said: Come in, for you are a man of valor and bring good tidings.

⁴³And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, 'Truly, our lord King David has made Solomon king.'

⁴⁴And the king sent with him Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they mounted him upon the mule of the king.

⁴⁵And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him as king at Gihon; and they went up from there rejoicing, and the city was in an uproar -- that is the noise you heard.

⁴⁶And moreover Solomon has sat upon the throne of the kingship.

⁴⁷And also the servants of the king came to bless our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne.' And the king bowed upon the bed.

⁴⁸And also the king said thus: 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has given today one sitting upon my throne, my own eyes seeing it.'

⁴⁹And they trembled and arose, all the invited guests who were with Adonijah; and they went, each man to his way.

⁵⁰And Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon; and he arose and went and grasped the horns of the altar.

⁵¹And it was told to Solomon, saying, 'Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and behold, he has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death by the sword.'

⁵²And Solomon said: If he proves to be a man of valor, not a hair of his shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.

⁵³And King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar; and he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, 'Go to your house.'