13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s
holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights
of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has
spoken.
When
King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over
him. 2 So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young
virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that
our lord the king may keep warm.”
3 Then
they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag,
a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The woman was very
beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no
sexual relations with her.
5 Now
Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be
king.” So he got chariots and horses[a] ready, with
fifty men to run ahead of him. 6 (His father had never rebuked
him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was
born next after Absalom.)
7 Adonijah
conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave
him their support. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of
Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David’s special guard did not
join Adonijah.
9 Adonijah
then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near
En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal
officials of Judah, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet
or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.
11 Then
Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah,
the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it?
12 Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life
and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go in to King David and
say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: “Surely
Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why
then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 While you are still there
talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.”
15 So
Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite
was attending him. 16 Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself
before the king.
“What
is it you want?” the king asked.
17 She
said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall
be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ 18 But now
Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. 19 He
has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has
invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the
army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 My lord
the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on
the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise, as soon
as my lord the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon
will be treated as criminals.”
22 While
she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. 23 And
the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and
bowed with his face to the ground.
24 Nathan
said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after
you, and that he will sit on your throne? 25 Today he has gone
down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has
invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the
priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live
King Adonijah!’ 26 But me your servant, and Zadok the priest,
and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. 27 Is
this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who
should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then
King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and
stood before him.
29 The
king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord
lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 I will
surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your
son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”
31 Then
Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before
the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
32 King
David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.”
When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: “Take your
lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him
down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the
prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live
King Solomon!’ 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to
come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler
over Israel and Judah.”
36 Benaiah
son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 As
the Lord was with my lord the
king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne
of my lord King David!”
38 So
Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites
and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they
escorted him to Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil
from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and
all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all
the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the
ground shook with the sound.
41 Adonijah
and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their
feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of
all the noise in the city?”
42 Even
as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said,
“Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”
43 “Not
at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The
king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of
Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the
king’s mule, 45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet
have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the
city resounds with it. That’s the noise you hear. 46 Moreover,
Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. 47 Also, the
royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May
your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater than
yours!’ And the king bowed in worship on his bed 48 and said,
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of
Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.’”
49 At
this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed. 50 But
Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then
Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the
horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will
not put his servant to death with the sword.’”
52 Solomon
replied, “If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to
the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.” 53 Then
King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah
came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, “Go to your home.”
