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, ^(A)“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own ^(B)mule, and take him down to ^(C)Gihon.^{[a] 34} There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(D)anoint him king over Israel; and ^(E)blow the horn, and say, ^[b]‘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, ^(F)“Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37 (G)As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and ^(H)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ^(I)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the ^(J)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 ^(K)oil from the tabernacle and ^(L)anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, ^(M)and all the people said, ^[c]“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 ^(N)Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for ^(O)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 ^(P)sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ^(Q)‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ ^(R)Then the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has ^(S)given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see ^(T)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 ^(U)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, ^(V)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.”

² So David commanded to gather the ^(A)aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^(B)cut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³ And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance ^(C)beyond measure, ⁴ and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^(D)Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵ Now David said, ^(E)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon, and ^[a]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^(F)it was in my mind to build a house ^(G)to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸ but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(H)‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ^9 (I)Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^(J)rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[b]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ^10 (K)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(L)he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may ^(M)the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹² Only may the Lord ^(N)give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (O)Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[c]charged Moses concerning Israel. ^(P)Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron ^(Q)beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and ^(R)the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the ^(S)leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? ^(T)And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to ^(U)bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^(V)for the name of the Lord.”

Leaving All to Follow Christ^(A)

²⁵ Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, ^26 (B)“If anyone comes to Me ^(C)and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, ^(D)yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And ^(E)whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For ^(F)which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— ²⁹ lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whoever of you ^(G)does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Tasteless Salt Is Worthless^(H)

^34 (I)“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? ³⁵ It is neither fit for the land nor for the ^[a]dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(J)

15 Then ^(K)all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man ^[b]receives sinners ^(L)and eats with them.” ³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

^4 (M)“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ^(N)‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep ^(O)which was lost!’ ⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ^(P)than over ninety-nine ^[c]just persons who ^(Q)need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver ^[d]coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”