1 Kings 1:1-27

Contemporary English Version

David in His Old Age

1 King David was now an old man, and he always felt cold, even under a lot of blankets. ² His officials said, “Your Majesty, we will look for a young woman to take care of you. She can lie down beside you and keep you warm.” ^3-4 They looked everywhere in Israel until they found a very beautiful young woman named Abishag, who lived in the town of Shunem.^[a] They brought her to David, and she took care of him. But David did not have sex with her.

Adonijah Tries To Become King

^5-6 (A) Adonijah was the son of David and Haggith. He was Absalom's younger brother^[b] and was very handsome. One day, Adonijah started bragging, “I'm going to make myself king!” So he got some chariots and horses, and he hired 50 men as bodyguards. David did not want to hurt his feelings, so he never asked Adonijah why he was doing these things.

⁷ Adonijah met with Joab the son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest and asked them if they would help him become king. Both of them agreed to help. ⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei,^[c] and David's bodyguards all refused.

⁹ Adonijah invited his brothers and David's officials from Judah to go with him to Crawling Rock^[d] near Rogel Spring, where he sacrificed some sheep, cattle, and fat calves.^{[e] 10} But he did not invite Nathan, Benaiah, David's bodyguards, or his own brother Solomon.

^11 (B) When Nathan heard what had happened, he asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother:

Have you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has made himself king? But David doesn't know a thing about it. ¹² You and your son Solomon will be killed, unless you do what I tell you. ¹³ Go say to David, “You promised me that Solomon would be the next king. So why is Adonijah now king?”

¹⁴ While you are still talking to David, I'll come in and tell him that everything you said is true.

¹⁵ Meanwhile, David was in his bedroom where Abishag was taking care of him because he was so old. Bathsheba went in ¹⁶ and bowed down.

“What can I do for you?” David asked.

¹⁷ Bathsheba answered:

Your Majesty, you promised me in the name of the Lord your God that my son Solomon would be the next king. ¹⁸ But Adonijah has already been made king, and you didn't know anything about it. ¹⁹ He sacrificed a lot of cattle, calves, and sheep. And he invited Abiathar the priest, Joab your army commander, and all your sons to be there, except Solomon, your loyal servant.

²⁰ Your Majesty, everyone in Israel is waiting for you to announce who will be the next king. ²¹ If you don't, they will say that Solomon and I have rebelled. They will treat us like criminals and kill us as soon as you die.

²² Just then, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³ Someone told David that he was there, and Nathan came in. He bowed with his face to the ground ²⁴ and said:

Your Majesty, did you say that Adonijah would be king? ²⁵ Earlier today, he sacrificed a lot of cattle, calves, and sheep. He invited the army commanders, Abiathar, and all your sons to be there. They are already eating and drinking and shouting, “Long live King Adonijah!” ²⁶ But he didn't invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon. ²⁷ Did you say they could do this without telling the rest of us who would be the next king?