³² King David said, “Call in Zadok^(A) 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^(B) and take him down to Gihon.^{(C) 34} There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint^(D) him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet^(E) 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^(F) Solomon to make his throne even greater^(G) than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Zadok^(H) the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites^(I) and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.^{(J) 39} Zadok the priest took the horn of oil^(K) from the sacred tent^(L) and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet^(M) and all the people shouted,^(N) “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes^(O) 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?”^(P)

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

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^(S) with it. That’s the noise you hear. ⁴⁶ Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat^(T) 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^(U) 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^(V) 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^(W) 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^(X) 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.”

Preparations for the Temple

² So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners^(A) residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters^(B) to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. ³ He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed.^{(C) 4} He also provided more cedar logs^(D) than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is young^(E) and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor^(F) in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build^(G) a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart^(H) to build^(I) a house for the Name^(J) of the Lord my God. ⁸ But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars.^(K) You are not to build a house for my Name,^(L) because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of peace^(M) and rest,^(N) and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,^[a](O) and I will grant Israel peace and quiet^(P) during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a house for my Name.^(Q) He will be my son,^(R) and I will be his father. And I will establish^(S) the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’^(T)

¹¹ “Now, my son, the Lord be with^(U) you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. ¹² May the Lord give you discretion and understanding^(V) when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will have success^(W) if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws^(X) that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous.^(Y) Do not be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴ “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents^[b] of gold, a million talents^[c] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.^{(Z) 15} You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters,^(AA) as well as those skilled in every kind of work ¹⁶ in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen^(AB) beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ Then David ordered^(AC) all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest^(AD) on every side?^(AE) For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. ¹⁹ Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God.^(AF) Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

The Cost of Being a Disciple

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.^{(A) 27} And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.^(B)

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.^(C)

³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?^{(D) 35} It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.^(E)

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(F)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(G)

15 Now the tax collectors^(H) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(I)

³ Then Jesus told them this parable:^{(J) 4} “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?^{(K) 5} And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’^{(L) 7} I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.^(M)

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’^{(N) 10} In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”^(O)