Adonijah Presumes to Be King

1 Now King David was ^(A)old, ^[a]advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. ² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her ^[b]stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³ So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found ^(B)Abishag the ^(C)Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

⁵ Then ^(D)Adonijah the ^[c]son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will ^[d]be king”; and ^(E)he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶ (And his father had not ^[e]rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. ^(F)His mother had borne him after Absalom.) ⁷ Then he conferred with ^(G)Joab the son of Zeruiah and with ^(H)Abiathar the priest, and ^(I)they followed and helped Adonijah. ⁸ But ^(J)Zadok the priest, ^(K)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(L)Nathan the prophet, ^(M)Shimei, Rei, and ^(N)the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹ And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of ^[f]Zoheleth, which is by ^(O)En Rogel;^[g] he also 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 ^(P)Solomon his brother.

¹¹ So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of ^(Q)Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹² Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ^(R)“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) ¹⁶ And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

¹⁷ Then she said to him, “My lord, ^(S)you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. ^19 (T)He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰ And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king ^(U)rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

²² And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³ So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (V)For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ^(W)‘Long^[h] live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Proclaims Solomon King^(X)

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ And the king took an oath and said, ^(Y)“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, ^30 (Z)just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, ^(AA)“Let my lord King David live forever!”

³² And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³ The king also said to them, ^(AB)“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own ^(AC)mule, and take him down to ^(AD)Gihon.^{[i] 34} There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(AE)anoint him king over Israel; and ^(AF)blow the horn, and say, ^[j]‘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, ^(AG)“Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37 (AH)As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and ^(AI)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ^(AJ)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the ^(AK)Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. ³⁹ Then Zadok the priest took a horn of ^(AL)oil from the tabernacle and ^(AM)anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, ^(AN)and all the people said, ^[k]“Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

⁴¹ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, there came ^(AO)Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for ^(AP)you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

⁴³ Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ So 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. ⁴⁶ Also Solomon ^(AQ)sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ^(AR)‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ ^(AS)Then the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has ^(AT)given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see ^(AU)it!’ ”

⁴⁹ So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

⁵⁰ Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and ^(AV)took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

⁵² Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, ^(AW)not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all ^(A)the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and ^(B)the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and ^(C)the stewards over all the substance and ^[a]possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all ^(D)the mighty men of valor.

² Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: ^(E)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for ^(F)the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. ³ But God said to me, ^(G)‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed ^(H)blood.’ ⁴ However the Lord God of Israel ^(I)chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen ^(J)Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, ^(K)the house of my father, and ^(L)among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. ^5 (M)And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) ^(N)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ Now He said to me, ‘It is ^(O)your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. ⁷ Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, ^(P)if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ ⁸ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.

⁹ “As for you, my son Solomon, ^(Q)know the God of your father, and serve Him ^(R)with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for ^(S)the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. ^(T)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will ^(U)cast you off forever. ¹⁰ Consider now, ^(V)for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon ^(W)the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; ¹² and the ^(X)plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, ^(Y)of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; ¹³ also for the division of the priests and the ^(Z)Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; ¹⁵ the weight for the ^(AA)lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. ¹⁶ And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each ^(AB)table, and silver for the tables of silver; ¹⁷ also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; ¹⁸ and refined gold by weight for the ^(AC)altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold ^(AD)cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹ “All this,” said David, ^(AE)“the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the ^[b]works of these plans.”

²⁰ And David said to his son Solomon, ^(AF)“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. ^(AG)He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²¹ Here are ^(AH)the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and ^(AI)every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

The Day of the Lord

5 But concerning ^(A)the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that ^(B)the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then ^(C)sudden destruction comes upon them, ^(D)as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ^4 (E)But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ You are all ^(F)sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ^6 (G)Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but ^(H)let us watch and be ^[a]sober. ⁷ For ^(I)those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk ^(J)are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, ^(K)putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For ^(L)God did not appoint us to wrath, ^(M)but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^10 (N)who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

¹¹ Therefore ^[b]comfort each other and ^[c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Various Exhortations

¹² And we urge you, brethren, ^(O)to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and ^[d]admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. ^(P)Be at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴ Now we ^[e]exhort you, brethren, ^(Q)warn those who are ^[f]unruly, ^(R)comfort the fainthearted, ^(S)uphold the weak, ^(T)be patient with all. ^15 (U)See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always ^(V)pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

^16 (W)Rejoice always, ^17 (X)pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

^19 (Y)Do not quench the Spirit. ^20 (Z)Do not despise prophecies. ^21 (AA)Test all things; ^(AB)hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

Blessing and Admonition

²³ Now may ^(AC)the God of peace Himself ^(AD)sanctify^[g] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body ^(AE)be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is ^(AF)faithful, who also will ^(AG)do it.

²⁵ Brethren, pray for us.

²⁶ Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

²⁷ I charge you by the Lord that this ^[h]epistle be read to all the ^[i]holy brethren.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.