1 Kings 1

¹Now King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. ²Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young maiden be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait upon the king, and be his nurse; let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may be warm.” ³So they sought for a beautiful maiden throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abʹishag the Shuʹnammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴The maiden was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.

⁵Now Adoniʹjah 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. ⁶His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man; and he was born next after Abʹsalom. ⁷He conferred with Joʹab the son of Zeruʹiah and with Abiʹathar the priest; and they followed Adoniʹjah and helped him. ⁸But Zadok the priest, and Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimʹe-i, and Reʹi, and David’s mighty men were not with Adoniʹjah.

⁹Adoniʹjah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside En-roʹgel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, ¹⁰but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiʹah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.

¹¹Then Nathan said to Bathsheʹba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adoniʹjah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? ¹²Now therefore come, let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³Go in at once 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 upon my throne”? Why then is Adoniʹjah king?’ ¹⁴Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheʹba went to the king into his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abʹishag the Shuʹnammite was ministering to the king). ¹⁶Bathsheʹba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?” ¹⁷She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.’ ¹⁸And now, behold, Adoniʹjah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. ¹⁹He has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiʹathar the priest, and Joʹab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰And now, 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. ²¹Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.”

²²While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground. ²⁴And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adoniʹjah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne’? ²⁵For he has gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, Joʹab the commander of the army, and Abiʹathar the priest; and behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adoniʹjah!’ ²⁶But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited. ²⁷Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheʹba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. ²⁹And the king swore, saying, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, ³⁰as 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 stead’; even so will I do this day.” ³¹Then Bathsheʹba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, “May my lord King David live for ever!”

³²King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada.” So they came before the king. ³³And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; ³⁴and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” ³⁶And Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. ³⁷As 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.”

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and the Cherʹethites and the Pelʹethites, went down and caused Solomon to ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.

⁴¹Adoniʹjah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joʹab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” ⁴²While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiʹathar the priest came; and Adoniʹjah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” ⁴³Jonathan answered Adoniʹjah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king; ⁴⁴and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and the Cherʹethites and the Pelʹethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule; ⁴⁵and 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. ⁴⁶Solomon sits upon the royal throne. ⁴⁷Moreover the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘Your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself upon the bed. ⁴⁸And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’ ”

⁴⁹Then all the guests of Adoniʹjah trembled, and rose, and each went his own way. ⁵⁰And Adoniʹjah feared Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹And it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adoniʹjah fears King Solomon; for lo, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.’ ” ⁵²And Solomon said, “If he prove to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”