1
And King David [is] old, entering into days, and they cover him with garments, and he has no heat,
2
and his servants say to him, “Let them seek [for] a young woman, a virgin, for my lord the king, and she has stood before the king, and is a companion to him, and has lain in your bosom, and my lord the king has heat.”
3
And they seek [for] a beautiful young woman in all the border of Israel, and find Abishag the Shunammite, and bring her to the king,
4
and the young woman [is] very, very beautiful, and she is a companion to the king, and serves him, and the king has not known her.
Adonijah Usurps the Kingdom
5
And Adonijah son of Haggith is lifting himself up, saying, “I reign”; and he prepares for himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men running before him,
6
and his father has not grieved him [all] his days, saying, “Why have you done this?” And he also [is] of a very good form, and [his mother] bore him after Absalom.
7
And his words are with Joab son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they help after Adonijah;
8
and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty ones whom David has, have not been with Adonijah.
9
And Adonijah sacrifices sheep and oxen and fatlings near the stone of Zoheleth that [is] by En-Rogel, and calls all his brothers, sons of the king, and for all the men of Judah, servants of the king;
10
and he has not called Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty ones, and his brother Solomon.
Nathan and Bathsheba before David
11
And Nathan speaks to Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has reigned, and our lord David has not known?
12
And now, come, please let me counsel you, and deliver your life and the life of your son Solomon;
13
go and enter in to King David, and you have said to him: Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your handmaid, saying, Surely your son Solomon reigns after me, and he sits on my throne? And why has Adonijah reigned?
14
Behold, you are yet speaking there with the king, and I come in after you, and have completed your words.”
15
And Bathsheba comes in to the king, [into] the inner chamber, and the king [is] very aged, and Abishag the Shunammite is serving the king;
16
and Bathsheba bows and pays respect to the king, and the king says, “What do you [want]?”
17
And she says to him, “My lord, you have sworn by your God YHWH to your handmaid, [saying], Surely your son Solomon reigns after me, and he sits on my throne;
18
and now, behold, Adonijah has reigned, and now, my lord, O king, you have not known;
19
and he sacrifices ox, and fatling, and sheep in abundance, and calls for all the sons of the king, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab head of the host—and he has not called for your servant Solomon.
20
And you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel [are] on you, to declare to them who sit on the throne of my lord the king after him;
21
and it has been, when my lord the king lies with his fathers, that I have been, I and my son Solomon—[reckoned] sinners.”
22
And behold, she is yet speaking with the king, and Nathan the prophet has come in;
23
and they declare to the king, saying, “Behold, Nathan the prophet”; and he comes in before the king, and bows himself to the king, on his face to the earth.
24
And Nathan says, “My lord, O king, you have said, Adonijah reigns after me, and he sits on my throne;
25
for he has gone down today, and sacrifices ox, and fatling, and sheep, in abundance, and calls for all the sons of the king, and for the heads of the host, and for Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and they say, Let King Adonijah live!
26
But he has not called for me, your servant, and for Zadok the priest, and for Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and for your servant Solomon;
27
if this thing has been from my lord the king, then you have not caused your servant to know who sits on the throne of my lord the king after him.”
David Renews His Oath to Bathsheba
28
And King David answers and says, “Call for Bathsheba for me”; and she comes in before the king, and stands before the king.
29
And the king swears and says, “YHWH lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity;
30
surely as I swore to you by YHWH, God of Israel, saying, Surely your son Solomon reigns after me, and he sits on my throne in my stead; surely so I do this day.”
31
And Bathsheba bows—face to the earth—and pays respect to the king, and says, “Let my lord, King David, live for all time.”
Solomon Anointed King
(1 Chronicles 29:21–25)
32
And King David says, “Call for Zadok the priest, and for Nathan the prophet, and for Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me”; and they come in before the king.
33
And the king says to them, “Take the servants of your lord with you, and you have caused my son Solomon to ride on my own mule, and caused him to go down to Gihon,
34
and Zadok the priest has anointed him there—and Nathan the prophet—for king over Israel, and you have blown with a horn and said, Let King Solomon live;
35
and you have come up after him, and he has come in and has sat on my throne, and he reigns in my stead, and I have appointed him to be leader over Israel, and over Judah.”
36
And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answers the king and says, “Amen! So does YHWH, God of my lord the king, say;
37
as YHWH has been with my lord the king, so is He with Solomon, and makes his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
38
And Zadok the priest goes down, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause Solomon to ride on the mule of King David, and cause him to go to Gihon,
39
and Zadok the priest takes the horn of oil out of the tent, and anoints Solomon, and they blow with a horn, and all the people say, “Let King Solomon live.”
40
And all the people come up after him, and the people are piping with pipes, and rejoicing [with] great joy, and the earth splits with their voice.
Adonijah Learns of Solomon’s Kingship
41
And Adonijah hears, and all those called who [are] with him, and they have finished to eat, and Joab hears the noise of the horn and says, “Why [is] the noise of the city roaring?”
42
He is yet speaking, and behold, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest has come in, and Adonijah says, “Come in, for you [are] a man of valor, and you bear good tidings.”
43
And Jonathan answers and says to Adonijah, “Truly our lord King David has caused Solomon to reign,
44
and the king sends with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause him to ride on the king’s mule,
45
and they anoint him—Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet—for king in Gihon, and have come up there rejoicing, and the city is moved; it [is] the noise that you have heard.
46
And also Solomon has sat on the throne of the kingdom,
47
and also the servants of the king have come into bless our lord King David, saying, Your God makes the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne; and the king bows himself on the bed,
48
and also thus the king has said, Blessed [is] YHWH, God of Israel, who has given [one] sitting on my throne today, and my eyes are seeing.”
49
And they tremble, and rise—all those called who [are] for Adonijah—and go, each on his way;
50
and Adonijah fears because of Solomon, and rises, and goes, and lays hold on the horns of the altar.
51
And it is declared to Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me as today—he does not put his servant to death by the sword.”
52
And Solomon says, “If he becomes a virtuous man—there does not fall [even one] hair of his to the earth, and if evil is found in him—then he has died.”
53
And King Solomon sends, and they bring him down from off the altar, and he comes in and bows himself to King Solomon, and Solomon says to him, “Go to your house.”
Copyright © 2020 Covenant Press and the CCC - licensed under CC BY-SA