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

⁹ And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the ^[d]stone of Zoheleth, which is beside ^(L)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, and ^(M)Solomon his brother.

Nathan Speaks to Bathsheba

¹¹ Then Nathan spoke to ^(N)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 ^(O)give you counsel and provide escape for your life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go ^[e]at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “^(P)Surely Solomon your son 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 fully confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went in to the king in the bedroom. Now ^(Q)the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king. ¹⁶ Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself ^[f]before the king. And the king said, “What ^[g]do you wish?” ¹⁷ And she said to him, “My lord, you swore to your maidservant by ^[h]Yahweh your God, saying, ‘^(R)Surely your son Solomon 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 (S)And he has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ As for you now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will be, ^(T)as soon as my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered ^[i]offenders.”

²² Behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ Then they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And then he came in before the king and prostrated himself ^[j]before the king with his ^[k]face to the ground. ²⁴ Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (U)For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘^(V)Long live King Adonijah!’