David in Old Age

1 Now King David was old, ^[a]advanced in age; and they covered him with garments, but he could not keep warm. ² So his servants said to him, “Have them search for a young virgin for my lord the king, and have her ^[b]attend the king and become his nurse; and have her lie on your chest, so that my lord the king may keep warm.” ³ So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the ^(A)Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not ^[c]become intimate with her.

⁵ Now ^(B)Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So ^(C)he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run before him. ⁶ And his father had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and ^[d](D)he was born after Absalom. ⁷ Now ^[e]he had conferred with ^(E)Joab the son of Zeruiah and with ^(F)Abiathar the priest; and they allied themselves with ^(G)Adonijah. ⁸ But ^(H)Zadok the priest, ^(I)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(J)Nathan the prophet, ^(K)Shimei, Rei, and ^(L)the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened steers by the ^[f]stone of Zoheleth, which is beside ^(M)En-rogel; and he 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 his brother ^(N)Solomon.

Nathan and Bathsheba

¹¹ Then Nathan spoke to ^(O)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 So now come, please let me ^(P)give you advice, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go ^[g]at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, saying, “^(Q)Solomon your son certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba entered to the king in the bedroom. Now ^(R)the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. ¹⁶ Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself ^[h]before the king. And the king said, “What ^[i]is on your mind?” ¹⁷ So she said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘^(S)Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know it. ^19 (T)He has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to announce to them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will come about, ^(U)as soon as my lord the king ^[j]lies down with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered ^[k]offenders.”

²² And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ They informed the king, saying, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And when he came into the king’s presence, he prostrated himself ^[l]before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you yourself said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (V)For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking in his presence; and they say, ‘^(W)Long live King Adonijah!’ ^26 (X)But me, even me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited. ²⁷ Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not let your ^[m]servants know who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸ Then King David responded and said, “Summon Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ Then the king vowed and said, “^(Y)As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, ³⁰ certainly as ^(Z)I vowed to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.” ³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, “^(AA)May my lord King David live forever.”