³² Then King David said, “Summon to me ^(A)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence. ³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you ^(B)the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to ^(C)Gihon. ³⁴ And have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(D)anoint him there as king over Israel, and ^(E)blow the trumpet and say, ‘^(F)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, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say the same. ^37 (G)Just as the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and ^(H)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

Solomon Anointed King

³⁸ So ^(I)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(J)the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to ^(K)Gihon. ³⁹ And Zadok the priest then ^(L)took the horn of oil from the tent and ^(M)anointed Solomon. Then they ^(N)blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “^(O)Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth ^[a]shook at their noise.

David’s Command to Solomon

2 As David’s ^[a](A)time to die drew near, he commanded his son Solomon, saying, ² “^(B)I am going the way of all the earth. So ^(C)be strong, and ^[b]prove yourself a man. ³ Do your duty to the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to ^[c]keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, ^(D)according to what is written in the Law of Moses, so that ^(E)you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ so that ^(F)the Lord may fulfill His ^[d]promise which He spoke regarding me, saying, ‘^(G)If your sons are careful about their way, ^(H)to walk before Me in ^[e]truth with all their heart and all their soul, ^[f](I)you shall not be deprived of a man to occupy the throne of Israel.’

Death of David

¹⁰ Then ^(A)David ^[a]lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in ^(B)the city of David.

¹² Then ^(A)Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

^5 (A)In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon ^(B)in a dream at night; and God said, “^(C)Ask what you wish Me to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

⁶ Then Solomon said, “^(D)You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, ^(E)according as he walked before You in ^[a]truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and ^(F)You have ^[b]reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ And now, Lord my God, ^(G)You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet ^(H)I am like a little boy; ^(I)I do not know how to ^[c]go out or come in. ⁸ And ^(J)Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, ^(K)a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So ^(L)give Your servant ^[d]an understanding heart to judge Your people, ^(M)to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this ^[e]great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

¹⁰ Now ^[f]it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹ And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have ^(N)not asked for yourself ^[g]a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, ¹² behold, ^(O)I have done according to your words. Behold, ^(P)I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. ^13 (Q)I have also given you what you have not asked, both ^(R)riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. ¹⁴ And ^(S)if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will ^(T)prolong your days.”