David and Bathsheba

11 In the spring,^(A) at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab^(B) out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.^(C) They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.^(D) But David remained in Jerusalem.

² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof^(E) of the palace. From the roof he saw^(F) a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba,^(G) the daughter of Eliam^(H) and the wife of Uriah^(I) the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her.^(J) She came to him, and he slept^(K) with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.)^(L) Then she went back home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah^(M) the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”^(N) So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰ David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark^(O) and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,^[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love^(P) to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

¹² Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter^(Q) to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down^(R) and die.^(S)”

¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

¹⁸ Joab sent David a full account of the battle. ¹⁹ He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, ²⁰ the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Abimelek^(T) son of Jerub-Besheth^[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,^(U) so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

²² The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

²⁵ David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷ After the time of mourning^(V) was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased^(W) the Lord.

Nathan Rebukes David^(X)

12 The Lord sent Nathan^(Y) to David.^(Z) When he came to him,^(AA) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

⁵ David^(AB) burned with anger^(AC) against the man^(AD) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,^(AE) the man who did this must die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over,^(AF) because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!^(AG) This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed^(AH) you^(AI) king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you,^(AJ) and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise^(AK) the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down^(AL) Uriah^(AM) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed^(AN) him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword^(AO) will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household^(AP) I am going to bring calamity on you.^(AQ) Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.^{(AR) 12} You did it in secret,^(AS) but I will do this thing in broad daylight^(AT) before all Israel.’”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned^(AU) against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away^(AV) your sin.^(AW) You are not going to die.^{(AX) 14} But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for^[c] the Lord,^(AY) the son born to you will die.”

¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck^(AZ) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying^(BA) in sackcloth^[d] on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused,^(BB) and he would not eat any food with them.^(BC)

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

¹⁹ David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

²⁰ Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,^(BD) put on lotions and changed his clothes,^(BE) he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

²¹ His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept,^(BF) but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

²² He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows?^(BG) The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’^{(BH) 23} But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him,^(BI) but he will not return to me.”^(BJ)

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba,^(BK) and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon.^(BL) The Lord loved him; ²⁵ and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.^[e](BM)

²⁶ Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah^(BN) of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. ²⁷ Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. ²⁸ Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

²⁹ So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. ³⁰ David took the crown^(BO) from their king’s^[f] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent^[g] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city ³¹ and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.^[h] David did this to all the Ammonite^(BP) towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. ² So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”

³ Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag,^(A) a Shunammite,^(B) and brought her to the king. ⁴ The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her.

⁵ Now Adonijah,^(C) whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots^(D) and horses^[a] ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never rebuked^(E) him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

⁷ Adonijah conferred with Joab^(F) son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar^(G) the priest, and they gave him their support. ⁸ But Zadok^(H) the priest, Benaiah^(I) son of Jehoiada, Nathan^(J) the prophet, Shimei^(K) and Rei and David’s special guard^(L) did not join Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel.^(M) He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons,^(N) and all the royal officials of Judah, ¹⁰ but he did not invite^(O) Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.^(P)

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Bathsheba,^(Q) Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah,^(R) the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? ¹² Now then, let me advise^(S) you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear^(T) to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag^(U) the Shunammite was attending him. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king.

“What is it you want?” the king asked.

¹⁷ She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore^(V) to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed^(W) great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest^(X) with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.”

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³ And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

²⁴ Nathan said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? ²⁵ Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite.^{(Y) 27} Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Makes Solomon King^(Z)

²⁸ Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

²⁹ The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,^{(AA) 30} I will surely carry out this very day what I swore^(AB) to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

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

³² King David said, “Call in Zadok^(AC) the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule^(AD) and take him down to Gihon.^{(AE) 34} There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint^(AF) him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet^(AG) and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with^(AH) Solomon to make his throne even greater^(AI) than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Zadok^(AJ) the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites^(AK) and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.^{(AL) 39} Zadok the priest took the horn of oil^(AM) from the sacred tent^(AN) and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet^(AO) and all the people shouted,^(AP) “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes^(AQ) and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?”^(AR)

⁴² Even as he was speaking, Jonathan^(AS) son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”^(AT)

⁴³ “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king’s mule, ⁴⁵ and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds^(AU) with it. That’s the noise you hear. ⁴⁶ Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat^(AV) on the royal throne. ⁴⁷ Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater^(AW) than yours!’ And the king bowed in worship on his bed ⁴⁸ and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor^(AX) on my throne today.’”

⁴⁹ At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed. ⁵⁰ But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns^(AY) of the altar. ⁵¹ Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”

⁵² Solomon replied, “If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair^(AZ) of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.” ⁵³ Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, “Go to your home.”

David’s Charge to Solomon^(BA)

2 When the time drew near for David to die,^(BB) he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

² “I am about to go the way of all the earth,”^(BC) he said. “So be strong,^(BD) act like a man, ³ and observe^(BE) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper^(BF) in all you do and wherever you go ⁴ and that the Lord may keep his promise^(BG) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully^(BH) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Now you yourself know what Joab^(BI) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner^(BJ) son of Ner and Amasa^(BK) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. ⁶ Deal with him according to your wisdom,^(BL) but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

⁷ “But show kindness^(BM) to the sons of Barzillai^(BN) of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table.^(BO) They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

⁸ “And remember, you have with you Shimei^(BP) son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim.^(BQ) When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore^(BR) to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ ⁹ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom;^(BS) you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”

¹⁰ Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried^(BT) in the City of David.^{(BU) 11} He had reigned^(BV) forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. ¹² So Solomon sat on the throne^(BW) of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.^(BX)

Solomon’s Throne Established

¹³ Now Adonijah,^(BY) the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”^(BZ)

He answered, “Yes, peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he added, “I have something to say to you.”

“You may say it,” she replied.

¹⁵ “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. ¹⁶ Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

“You may make it,” she said.

¹⁷ So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag^(CA) the Shunammite as my wife.”

¹⁸ “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹ When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother,^(CB) and she sat down at his right hand.^(CC)

²⁰ “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.”

The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.”

²¹ So she said, “Let Abishag^(CD) the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.”

²² King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag^(CE) the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother^(CF)—yes, for him and for Abiathar^(CG) the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”

²³ Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,^(CH) if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! ²⁴ And now, as surely as the Lord lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised^(CI)—Adonijah shall be put to death today!” ²⁵ So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah^(CJ) son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.^(CK)

²⁶ To Abiathar^(CL) the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth.^(CM) You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark^(CN) of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.”^{(CO) 27} So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling^(CP) the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

²⁸ When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns^(CQ) of the altar. ²⁹ King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar.^(CR) Then Solomon ordered Benaiah^(CS) son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”

³⁰ So Benaiah entered the tent^(CT) of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!^(CU)’”

But he answered, “No, I will die here.”

Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”

³¹ Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood^(CV) that Joab shed. ³² The Lord will repay^(CW) him for the blood he shed,^(CX) because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa^(CY) son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better^(CZ) men and more upright than he. ³³ May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”

³⁴ So Benaiah^(DA) son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab^(DB) and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. ³⁵ The king put Benaiah^(DC) son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok^(DD) the priest.

³⁶ Then the king sent for Shimei^(DE) and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. ³⁷ The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley,^(DF) you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”^(DG)

³⁸ Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

³⁹ But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish^(DH) son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” ⁴⁰ At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

⁴¹ When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, ⁴² the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn^(DI) you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ ⁴³ Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”

⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong^(DJ) you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure^(DK) before the Lord forever.”

⁴⁶ Then the king gave the order to Benaiah^(DL) son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei^(DM) down and he died.

The kingdom was now established^(DN) in Solomon’s hands.