³² King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada.” So they came before the king. ³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; ³⁴ and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” ³⁶ And Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. ³⁷ As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and the Cher′ethites and the Pel′ethites, went down and caused Solomon to ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹ There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.

⁴¹ Adoni′jah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Jo′ab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abi′athar the priest came; and Adoni′jah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” ⁴³ Jonathan answered Adoni′jah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king; ⁴⁴ and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and the Cher′ethites and the Pel′ethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule; ⁴⁵ and 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 Solomon sits upon the royal throne. ⁴⁷ Moreover the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘Your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself upon the bed. ⁴⁸ And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one of my offspring^[a] to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”

⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adoni′jah trembled, and rose, and each went his own way. ⁵⁰ And Adoni′jah feared Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adoni′jah fears King Solomon; for lo, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.’” ⁵² And Solomon said, “If he prove to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

David Prepares to Build the Temple

² David commanded to gather together the aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. ³ David also provided great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, ⁴ and cedar timbers without number; for the Sido′nians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. ⁵ For David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands; I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.

David’s Charge to Solomon and the Leaders

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me upon the earth. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to you; he shall be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel for ever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. ¹² Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong, and of good courage. Fear not; be not dismayed. ¹⁴ With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone too I have provided. To these you must add. ¹⁵ You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working ¹⁶ gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and be doing! The Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord.”

The Cost of Discipleship

²⁵ Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a 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 encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. ³³ So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

About Salt

³⁴ “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost 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 his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,^[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”