O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

^23 (A)Then Solomon sat on the ^(B)throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord made Solomon very ^(C)great in the sight of all Israel and ^(D)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 ^(A)Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, ^(B)and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

Solomon's Reign Established

¹³ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^(A)“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” ¹⁵ He said, “You know that ^(B)the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, ^(C)for it was his from the Lord. ¹⁶ And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” ¹⁷ And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me ^(D)Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” ¹⁸ Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”

¹⁹ So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, ^(E)and she sat on his right. ²⁰ Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” ²¹ She said, “Let ^(F)Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” ²² King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask ^(G)Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, ^(H)for he is my older brother, and on his side ^(I)are Abiathar^[a] the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” ²³ Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, ^(J)“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! ²⁴ Now therefore ^(K)as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, ^(L)as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” ²⁵ So King Solomon sent ^(M)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

²⁶ And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to ^(N)Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, ^(O)because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, ^(P)and because you shared in all my father's affliction.” ^27 (Q)So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling ^(R)the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸ When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^(S)had supported Adonijah although ^(T)he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^(U)horns of the altar. ²⁹ And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰ So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” ³¹ The king replied to him, ^(V)“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^(W)and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. ³² The Lord will ^(X)bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^(Y)more righteous and better than himself, ^(Z)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^(AA)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ^33 (AB)So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” ³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ^35 (AC)The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^(AD)Zadok the priest ^(AE)in the place of Abiathar.

³⁶ Then the king sent and summoned ^(AF)Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. ³⁷ For on the day you go out and cross ^(AG)the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^(AH)Your blood shall be on your own head.” ³⁸ And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹ But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei's servants ran away to ^(AI)Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” ⁴⁰ Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹ And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, ⁴² the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ ⁴³ Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” ⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart ^(AJ)all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will ^(AK)bring back your harm on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon shall be blessed, ^(AL)and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” ⁴⁶ Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

^(AM)So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

3 ^(AN)Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into ^(AO)the city of David until he had finished ^(AP)building his own house ^(AQ)and the house of the Lord ^(AR)and the wall around Jerusalem. ^2 (AS)The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

³ Solomon ^(AT)loved the Lord, ^(AU)walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. ⁴ And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^(AV)for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

² Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the ^(A)commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses. ³ And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^(B)the high place that was at Gibeon, ^(C)for ^(D)the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. ^4 (E)(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) ⁵ Moreover, ^(F)the bronze altar that ^(G)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly ^(H)sought it^[a] out. ⁶ And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, ^(I)and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

^5 (A)At Gibeon ^(B)the Lord appeared to Solomon ^(C)in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” ⁶ And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because ^(D)he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ^(E)have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. ⁷ And now, O Lord my God, ^(F)you have made your servant king in place of David my father, ^(G)although I am but a little child. I do not know ^(H)how to go out or come in. ^8 (I)And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ^(J)too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. ^9 (K)Give your servant therefore an understanding mind ^(L)to govern your people, that I may ^(M)discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹ And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹² behold, ^(N)I now do according to your word. Behold, ^(O)I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. ^13 (P)I give you also what you have not asked, ^(Q)both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. ¹⁴ And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, ^(R)as your father David walked, then ^(S)I will lengthen your days.”

¹⁵ And Solomon ^(T)awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

^7 (A)In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” ⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, ^(B)and have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, ^(C)let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous ^(D)as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^(E)go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” ¹¹ God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for ^(F)possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you ^(G)riches, possessions, and honor, ^(H)such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” ¹³ So Solomon came from^[a] the ^(I)high place at Gibeon, from before ^(J)the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.