Solomon’s Intercessors

¹¹ Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, but our lord David does not know? ¹² So then, come, let me advise you please, that you may save^[a] your life and the life of your son, Solomon. ¹³ Come, go to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, “Surely Solomon your son shall become king after me. And he will sit on my throne”? But why is Adonijah king?’ ¹⁴ While you are still there speaking with the king, I will enter after you, and I will confirm your words.”^[b]

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to the king in the private room. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunnamite was attending the king. ¹⁶ Bathsheba knelt and bowed down before the king, and the king asked, “What do you want?”^{[c] 17} She said to him, “My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your servant, ‘Solomon your son surely shall become king after me, and he will sit upon my throne!’ ¹⁸ But now, look! Adonijah has become king! And now, my lord the king, you do not know! ¹⁹ He has sacrificed oxen and sheep and fattened animals in abundance,^[d] and he has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he did not invite. ²⁰ But as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all of Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ It shall be that when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors,^[e] I and my son Solomon will be considered as sinners.”

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ They told the king, “Nathan the prophet is here.” He came into the presence of the king and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me and he shall sit on my throne’?

²⁵ “For he went down today and sacrificed oxen, sheep, and fattened animals in abundance.^[f] He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and look, they are eating and drinking before him. They have also said, “Long live King Adonijah! ²⁶ But me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Solomon your servant he did not invite. ²⁷ If it was from my lord the king that this thing has happened, then all is well, but if not, you must let your servants know who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.”