1 Kings 1:28-53

New Living Translation

David Makes Solomon King

²⁸ King David responded, “Call Bathsheba!” So she came back in and stood before the king. ²⁹ And the king repeated his vow: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has rescued me from every danger, ³⁰ your son Solomon will be the next king and will sit on my throne this very day, just as I vowed to you before the Lord, the God of Israel.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground before the king and exclaimed, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³² Then King David ordered, “Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came into the king’s presence, ³³ the king said to them, “Take Solomon and my officials down to Gihon Spring. Solomon is to ride on my own mule. ³⁴ There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. Blow the ram’s horn and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then escort him back here, and he will sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ “Amen!” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied. “May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, decree that it happen. ³⁷ And may the Lord be with Solomon as he has been with you, my lord the king, and may he make Solomon’s reign even greater than yours!”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the king’s bodyguard^[a] took Solomon down to Gihon Spring, with Solomon riding on King David’s own mule. ³⁹ There Zadok the priest took the flask of olive oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon with the oil. Then they sounded the ram’s horn and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people followed Solomon into Jerusalem, playing flutes and shouting for joy. The celebration was so joyous and noisy that the earth shook with the sound.

⁴¹ Adonijah and his guests heard the celebrating and shouting just as they were finishing their banquet. When Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn, he asked, “What’s going on? Why is the city in such an uproar?”

⁴² And while he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said to him, “for you are a good man. You must have good news.”

⁴³ “Not at all!” Jonathan replied. “Our lord King David has just declared Solomon king! ⁴⁴ The king sent him down to Gihon Spring with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, protected by the king’s bodyguard. They had him ride on the king’s own mule, ⁴⁵ and Zadok and Nathan have anointed him at Gihon Spring as the new king. They have just returned, and the whole city is celebrating and rejoicing. That’s what all the noise is about. ⁴⁶ What’s more, Solomon is now sitting on the royal throne as king. ⁴⁷ And all the royal officials have gone to King David and congratulated him, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon’s reign be even greater than yours!’ Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed, ⁴⁸ and he said, ‘Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has chosen a successor to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.’”

⁴⁹ Then all of Adonijah’s guests jumped up in panic from the banquet table and quickly scattered. ⁵⁰ Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he rushed to the sacred tent and grabbed on to the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Word soon reached Solomon that Adonijah had seized the horns of the altar in fear, and that he was pleading, “Let King Solomon swear today that he will not kill me!”

⁵² Solomon replied, “If he proves himself to be loyal, not a hair on his head will be touched. But if he makes trouble, he will die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon summoned Adonijah, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and bowed respectfully before King Solomon, who dismissed him, saying, “Go on home.”