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.”

³² Then King David said, “Summon to me ^(AB)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence. ³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you ^(AC)the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to ^(AD)Gihon. ³⁴ And have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(AE)anoint him there as king over Israel, and ^(AF)blow the trumpet and say, ‘^(AG)Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall come up after him, and 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 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say the same. ^37 (AH)Just as the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and ^(AI)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

Solomon Anointed King

³⁸ So ^(AJ)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(AK)the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to ^(AL)Gihon. ³⁹ And Zadok the priest then ^(AM)took the horn of oil from the tent and ^(AN)anointed Solomon. Then they ^(AO)blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “^(AP)Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth ^[n]shook at their noise.

⁴¹ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard this as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the ^[o]city making such an uproar?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, ^(AQ)Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for ^(AR)you are a valiant man and you bring good news.” ⁴³ But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “On the contrary! Our lord King David has made Solomon king! ⁴⁴ The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have mounted him on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ Furthermore, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, ^(AS)so that the city is going wild. This is the noise which you have heard. ⁴⁶ Besides, ^(AT)Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May ^(AU)your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne!’ And ^(AV)the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ The king has also said this: ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who ^(AW)has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”

⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and got up, and each went on his way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah also was afraid of Solomon, and he got up, and went, and ^(AX)took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Now 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, ‘May King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” ⁵² And Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, ^(AY)not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Divisions of the Gatekeepers

26 For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, ^[a]Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of ^[b]Asaph. ² Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³ Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh. ^4 (A)Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵ Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him. ⁶ Also to his son Shemaiah sons were born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were valiant mighty men. ⁷ The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were valiant men. ⁸ All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and relatives were able men with strength for the service, sixty-two from Obed-edom. ⁹ Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, eighteen valiant men. ¹⁰ Also ^(B)Hosah, one of the sons of Merari had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him first), ¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth; the sons and relatives of Hosah were thirteen in all.

¹² To these divisions of the gatekeepers, to the chief men, were given duties like their relatives, to serve in the house of the Lord. ^13 (C)They cast lots, the small and the great alike, according to their fathers’ households, for every gate. ¹⁴ The lot to the east fell to ^[c]Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a counselor with insight, and his lot came out to the north. ¹⁵ For Obed-edom it fell to the south, and to his sons went the storehouse. ¹⁶ For Shuppim and Hosah it was to the west, by the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending highway. Guard corresponded to guard. ¹⁷ On the east there were six Levites, on the north four daily, on the south four daily, and at the storehouse two by two. ¹⁸ At the ^[d](D)annex on the west there were four at the highway and two at the annex. ¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.

Keepers of the Treasure

^20 [e]The Levites, their relatives, were in ^(E)charge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts. ²¹ The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite.

²² The sons of Jehieli, Zetham, and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasures of the house of the Lord. ²³ As for the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, ²⁴ Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was officer over the treasures. ²⁵ His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son. ²⁶ This Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of all the treasures of the dedicated gifts ^(F)which King David and the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷ They dedicated ^[f]part of the spoils won in battles to repair the house of the Lord. ²⁸ And all that Samuel the seer had dedicated, and Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, everyone who had dedicated anything, all of this was ^[g]under the care of ^[h]Shelomoth and his relatives.

Outside Duties

²⁹ As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons ^(G)were assigned to outside duties for Israel, as ^(H)officers and judges. ³⁰ As for the Hebronites, ^(I)Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, ^[i]were responsible for the affairs of Israel ^[j]west of the Jordan, for all the work of the Lord and the service of the king. ³¹ As for the Hebronites, ^(J)Jerijah the chief ^[k](these Hebronites were sought out according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at ^(K)Jazer of Gilead) ³² and his relatives, capable men, numbered 2,700, heads of fathers’ households. And King David appointed them as overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites ^(L)concerning ^[l]all the affairs of God and of the king.

Commanders of the Army

27 Now this is the number of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout the months of the year, each division numbering twenty-four thousand:

² Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel ^[m](M)was in charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ³ He was from the sons of Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month. ⁴ Dodai the Ahohite and his division was in charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵ The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶ This Benaiah was the mighty man of the thirty, and was in charge of thirty; and over his division was his son Ammizabad. ⁷ The fourth, for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸ The fifth, for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹ The sixth, for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ The seventh, for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹ The eighth, for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹² The ninth, for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjaminites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³ The tenth, for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴ The eleventh, for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵ The twelfth, for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Chief Officers of the Tribes

¹⁶ Now in charge of the tribes of Israel: chief officer for the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah; ¹⁷ for Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok; ¹⁸ for Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹ for Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰ for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹ for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²² for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. ^(N)These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²³ But David did not ^[n]count those twenty years of age and under, ^(O)because the Lord had said He would multiply Israel ^(P)as the stars of heaven. ²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah had begun to count them, but did not finish; and because of ^(Q)this, wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not included in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Various Overseers

²⁵ Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel was responsible for the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah was responsible for the storehouses in the country, the cities, the villages, and the towers. ²⁶ Ezri the son of Chelub was responsible for the ^[o]agricultural workers who tilled the soil. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was responsible for the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite was responsible for the ^[p]produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars. ²⁸ Baal-hanan the Gederite was responsible for the olive and ^(R)sycamore trees in the ^[q]Shephelah; and Joash was responsible for the stores of oil. ²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was responsible for the cattle which were grazing in ^(S)Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was responsible for the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite was responsible for the donkeys. ³¹ Jaziz the ^(T)Hagrite was responsible for the flocks. All these were ^[r]overseers of the property which belonged to King David.

Counselors

³² Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni ^[s]tutored the king’s sons. ^33 (U)Ahithophel was counselor to the king; and ^(V)Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Jehoiada the son of ^(W)Benaiah, and ^(X)Abiathar ^[t]succeeded Ahithophel; and Joab was the ^(Y)commander of the king’s army.

David’s Address about the Temple

28 Now ^(Z)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and ^(AA)the mighty men, all the valiant warriors. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people; ^[u]I ^(AB)had intended to build a ^[v]permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for ^(AC)the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. ³ But God said to me, ‘^(AD)You shall not build a house for My name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴ Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AE)chose me from all the household of my father to be king over Israel ^(AF)forever. For ^(AG)He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and ^(AH)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. ^5 (AI)Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), ^(AJ)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ He said to me, ‘Your son ^(AK)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courtyards; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a Father to him. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever ^(AL)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as ^[w]is done now.’ ⁸ So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the ^[x]presence of our God, keep and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.

⁹ “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and ^(AM)serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing ^[y]mind; ^(AN)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. ^(AO)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; ^(AP)be courageous and act.”

¹¹ Then David gave to his son Solomon ^(AQ)the plan of ^(AR)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and ^(AS)the room for the ^[z]atoning cover; ¹² and the plan of all that he had in ^[aa]mind, for the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for ^(AT)the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; ¹³ also for ^(AU)the divisions of the priests and ^(AV)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; ¹⁴ for the golden utensils, by weight of gold for all utensils for every service; for all the silver utensils, by weight of silver for all utensils for every service; ¹⁵ and the weight of gold for the ^(AW)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; ¹⁶ and the gold by weight for the tables of the showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; ¹⁸ and for ^(AX)the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, and ^(AY)the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

¹⁹ “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, ^(AZ)all the ^[ab]details of this pattern.”

²⁰ Then David said to his son Solomon, “^(BA)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. ^(BB)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. ²¹ Now behold, ^(BC)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and ^(BD)every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 ^(A)What shall we say then? Are we to ^(B)continue in sin so that grace may increase? ^2 [a](C)Far from it! How shall we who ^(D)died to sin still live in it? ³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been ^(E)baptized into ^(F)Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been ^(G)buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was ^(H)raised from the dead through the ^(I)glory of the Father, so we too may walk in ^(J)newness of life. ⁵ For ^(K)if we have become ^[b]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be ^[c]in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our ^(L)old ^[d]self was ^(M)crucified with Him, in order that our ^(N)body of sin might be ^[e]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ⁷ for ^(O)the one who has died is ^[f]freed from sin.

⁸ Now ^(P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that ^(Q)we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been ^(R)raised from the dead, ^[g]is never to die again; ^(S)death no longer is master over Him. ¹⁰ For ^[h]the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but ^[i]the life that He lives, He lives to ^[j]God. ¹¹ So you too, consider yourselves to be ^(T)dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore sin is not to ^(U)reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on ^(V)presenting ^[k]the parts of your body to sin as ^[l]instruments of unrighteousness; but ^(W)present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and ^[m]your body’s parts as ^[n]instruments of righteousness for God. ¹⁴ For ^(X)sin shall not ^(Y)be master over you, for ^(Z)you are not under ^[o]the Law but ^(AA)under grace.

¹⁵ What then? ^(AB)Are we to sin because we are not under ^[p]the Law but under grace? ^[q](AC)Far from it! ¹⁶ Do you not ^(AD)know that the one to whom you present yourselves as ^(AE)slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of ^(AF)sin ^[r]resulting in death, or of obedience ^[s]resulting in righteousness? ¹⁷ But ^(AG)thanks be to God that ^[t]though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that ^[u](AH)form of teaching to which you were entrusted, ¹⁸ and after being ^(AI)freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness. ^19 (AJ)I am speaking ^[v]in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just ^(AK)as you presented ^[w]the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, ^[x]resulting in further lawlessness, so now present ^[y]your body’s parts as slaves to righteousness, ^[z]resulting in sanctification.

²⁰ For ^(AL)when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness. ²¹ Therefore what ^[aa](AM)benefit were you then ^[ab]deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is ^(AN)death. ²² But now having been ^(AO)freed from sin and ^(AP)enslaved to God, you ^[ac]derive your ^[ad](AQ)benefit, ^[ae]resulting in sanctification, and ^(AR)the outcome, eternal life. ²³ For the wages of ^(AS)sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is ^(AT)eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.