1 Reis 1

¹ Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, for 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 serve him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.

³ So they sought for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

⁴ The girl was very beautiful; and she served the king, and ministered to 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 (Now his father had not hurt him at any time by saying, Why have you done so? He was also very good in appearance. And his mother had borne him after Absalom.)

⁷ And he spoke with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they went after Adonijah and helped him.

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 fatlings 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 now, please let me counsel you with advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³ Depart and go to King David and say to him, Have you not sworn to your maidservant, my lord, O king, saying, Surely 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 speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.

¹⁵ So Bathsheba came into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.)

¹⁶ And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. And the king said, What can I do for you?

¹⁷ And she said to him, My lord, you have sworn by Jehovah your God to your maidservant, saying, Surely Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.

¹⁸ So now, behold, Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you have not known about it.

¹⁹ He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings 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 upon you, to 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 lies down with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.

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

²³ And they reported to the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he bowed down to 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 fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they said, 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 brought about by my lord the king, and you have not declared to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

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

²⁹ And the king swore and said, As Jehovah lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress,

³⁰ just as I have sworn to you by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place, thus I shall do this day.

³¹ And Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did 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. And they came in before the king.

³³ And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

³⁴ There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the shofar, and say, Long live King Solomon!

³⁵ And when you have come up after him, 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 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, Amen! Thus says Jehovah the God of my lord the king.

³⁷ As Jehovah has been with my lord the king, even so shall 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 brought him to Gihon.

³⁹ And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. And they blew the shofar, 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 was rent with their sound.

⁴¹ And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the shofar, he said, Why is the city in such a commotion?

⁴² And while he was still speaking, behold Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest came in. And Adonijah said to him, Come in, for you are a mighty man, and bring good news.

⁴³ And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, No rather, 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 And 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 all stirred up. This is the sound that you have heard.

⁴⁶ Also Solomon has sat down 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. And the king bowed himself on the bed.

⁴⁸ Also the king has said, Blessed is Jehovah the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, with my eyes seeing it!

⁴⁹ So all the guests who were with Adonijah trembled, and rose up, and each one went his way.

⁵⁰ And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

⁵¹ And it was reported to Solomon, saying, Behold Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.

⁵² And Solomon said, If he is a son of worth, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if evil is found in him, he shall die.

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