Give the King Your Justice

Of ^(A)Solomon.

^5 (A)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous ^(B)Branch, and ^(C)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and ^(D)Israel will ^(E)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ^(F)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

^12 (A)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 (B)Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. ^(C)Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

¹⁰ Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^(A)go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?”

^19 (A)Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may ^(B)build the palace ^(C)for which I have made provision.”

³⁹ There Zadok the priest took the horn of ^(A)oil from the tent and ^(B)anointed Solomon. ^(C)Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, ^(D)“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 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, ^(E)Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, ^(F)for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” ⁴³ Jonathan answered Adonijah, “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 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the ^(G)Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king's mule. ⁴⁵ And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at ^(H)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 (I)Solomon sits on the royal throne. ⁴⁷ Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ^(J)‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king ^(K)bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(L)who has granted someone^[a] to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”

⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way. ⁵⁰ And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went ^(M)and took hold of ^(N)the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” ⁵² And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, ^(O)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 paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

David's Instructions to Solomon

2 ^(P)When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ^2 (Q)“I am about to go the way of all the earth. ^(R)Be strong, and show yourself a man, ³ and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, ^(S)that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ that the Lord may ^(T)establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ^(U)‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, ^(V)to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, ^(W)you shall not lack^[b] a man on the throne of Israel.’

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

³⁴ For he whom ^(A)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit ^(B)without measure.