Beginning
1 Now when King David was old and stricken in years, they covered him with clothes, but no heat came to him.
2 Therefore, his servants said to him, “Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin. And let her stand before the king and care for him. And let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may get warm.”
3 So they sought for a fair young maid throughout all the territory of Israel, and found one Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 And the maid was exceedingly fair and cared for the king and ministered to him. But the king did not know her.
5 Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he got himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.
6 And his father had never disciplined him since his childhood, to say, “Why have you done this?” And he was a very pleasant man, born next after Absalom.
7 And he took counsel from Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and from Abiathar the Priest. And they looked after Adonijah.
8 But Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the Prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the men of might who were with David, were not with Adonijah.
9 Then, Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants.
10 But Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah and the mighty men and Solomon, his brother, he did not call.
11 Therefore, Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, reigns, and David our lord does not know it?
12 “Now, therefore, come. I will now give you counsel, how to save your own life and the life of your son, Solomon.
13 “Go, and get yourself in to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not swear to your handmaid, my lord, O king, saying, “Assuredly, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?” Why, then, is Adonijah king?’
14 “Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 So, Bathsheba went in to the king, into the chamber. And the king was very old. And Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king.
16 And Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself to the king. And the king said, “What is your wish?”
17 And she answered him, “My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your handmaid, ‘Assuredly Solomon (your son) shall reign after me. And he shall sit upon my throne.’
18 “And behold, now Adonijah is king. And now, my lord, O king, you do not know it.
19 “And he has offered many oxen and fat cattle and sheep, and has called all the sons of the king and Abiathar the Priest and Joab the captain of the army. But Solomon, your servant, he has not called.
20 “And you, my lord, O king, know that the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you would tell them who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 “For otherwise, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall have reputations as offenders.”
22 And lo, while she still talked with the king, Nathan the Prophet also came in.
23 And they told the king, saying, “Behold, Nathan the Prophet.” And when he had come in to the king, he prostrated himself before the king upon his face, to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne?’
25 “For he has gone down this day and has killed many oxen and fat cattle and sheep and has called all the king’s sons and the captains of the army and Abiathar the Priest. And behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, ‘God save King Adonijah!’
26 “But me, your servant, and Zadok the Priest and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not called.
27 “Is this thing done by my lord the king and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then, King David answered, and said, “Call Bathsheba.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29 And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, Who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
30 “just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne in my place,’ so will I certainly do this day.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and did reverence to the king, and said, “God save my lord King David forever.”
32 And King David said, “Call Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada.” And they came before the king.
33 Then the king said to them, “Take the servants of your lord with you and have Solomon, my son, ride upon my own mule. And carry him down to Gihon.
34 “And let Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anoint him king over Israel there. And blow the trumpet, and say, ‘God save King Solomon!’
35 “Then come up after him, so that he may come and sit upon my throne. And he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.”
36 Then Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answered the king, and said, “So be it. The LORD, God of my lord the king, ratify it.
37 “As the LORD has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and exalt his throne above the throne of my lord, King David.”
38 So Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
39 And Zadok the Priest took a horn of oil out of the Tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet. And all the people said, “God save King Solomon!”
40 And all the people came up after him. And the people played on flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the Earth rang with the sound of them.
41 And Adonijah, and all the guests who were with him, heard it (and they had finished eating). And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this noise and uproar in the city mean?”
42 And as he spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the Priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in. For you are a worthy man, and bring good news.”
43 And Jonathan answered, and said to Adonijah, “No. Our lord, King David, has made Solomon king.
44 “And the king has sent Zadok the Priest with him, and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they have had him ride upon the king’s mule.
45 “And Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet have anointed him king in Gihon. And they have gone up from there with joy. And the city is moved. This is the noise that you have heard.
46 “And Solomon also sits on the throne of the kingdom.
47 “And moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord, King David, saying, ‘God make the name of Solomon more famous than your name, and exalt his throne above your throne.’ Therefore, the king worshipped upon the bed.
48 “And thus said the king also, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has made one to sit on my throne this day, even in my sight.’”
49 Then all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and each man went his way.
50 And Adonijah, fearing the presence of Solomon, arose and went and took hold of the horns of the Altar.
51 And someone told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon. For lo, he has caught hold of the horns of the Altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”
52 Then Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth. But if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”
53 Then King Solomon sent, and they brought him from the altar. And he came and bowed down before King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
2 Then the days of David drew near, that he should die. And he charged Solomon, his son, saying,
2 “I go the way of all the Earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself to be a man,
3 “and keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and keep His Statutes and His Commandments and His Judgments and His Testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do, and in everything to which you turn,
4 “so that the LORD may confirm His Word which He spoke to me, saying, ‘If your sons guard their way, so that they walk before Me in truth, with all their hearts and with all their souls, you shall not (said He) lack one of yours upon the throne of Israel.’
5 “You also know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, and what he did to the two captains to the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed and shed blood of battle in peace. And he put the blood of war upon his girdle that was around his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
6 “Do, therefore, according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. And let them be among those who eat at your table. For so they came to me when I fled from Absalom, your brother.
8 “And behold, with you is Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin of Bahurim, who cursed me with a horrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at Jordan and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not kill you with the sword.’
9 “But you shall not count him innocent. For you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do to him. Therefore, you shall cause his gray head to go down to the grave with blood.”
10 So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
11 And the days which David reigned upon Israel were forty years. For seven years he reigned in Hebron and for thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.
12 Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David, his father. And his kingdom was established mightily.
13 And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Yea.”
14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say on.”
15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, so that I should reign. However, the kingdom has turned away and is my brother’s. For it came to him by the LORD.
16 “Now, therefore, I ask one request of you. Do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Say on.”
17 And he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, (for he will not say no to you) so that he gives me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
18 And Bathsheba said, “Well, I will speak to the king for you.”
19 Bathsheba, therefore, went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne. And he had a seat prepared for the king’s mother. And she sat at his right hand.
20 Then she said, “I desire a small request of you. Do not turn away.” Then the king said to her, “Ask on, my mother. For I will not turn away.”
21 Then she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”
22 But king Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also (for he is my elder brother) and for him both Abiathar the Priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah!”
23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “God do so to me and more also if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
24 “Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, Who has established me and set me on the throne of David, my father, Who has also made me a House (as He promised), Adonijah shall surely die this day!”
25 And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And he struck him so that he died.
26 Then the king said to Abiathar the Priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields. For you are worthy of death. But I will not kill you this day, because you bear the Ark of the LORD God before David, my father, and because you have suffered in all in which my father has been afflicted.”
27 So Solomon cast out Abiathar from being Priest to the LORD, so that he might fulfill the words of the LORD which He spoke against the House of Eli in Shiloh.
28 Then news came to Joab (for Joab had followed Adonijah, but he had not followed Absalom). And Joab fled to the Tabernacle of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the Altar.
29 And it was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tabernacle of the LORD and, behold, was by the Altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him!”
30 And Benaiah came to the Tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’” And he said, “No! But I will die here!” Then Benaiah brought word back to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab and thus he answered me.”
31 And the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him, and bury him, so that you may take away from me and from the House of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed.
32 “And the LORD shall bring his blood upon his own head. For he struck two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword —Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it.
33 “Therefore, their blood shall return upon the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed, forever. But upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his House and upon his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”
34 So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and struck him and killed him. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35 And the king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his room over the army. And the king set Zadok the Priest in the room of Abiathar.
36 Afterward, the king sent and called Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there. And do not go anywhere from there.
37 “For the day that you go out and pass over the river of Kidron, know assuredly that you shall die the death. Your blood shall be upon your own head.”
38 And Shimei said to the king, “The thing is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem for many days.
39 And after three years, two of the servants of Shimei fled away to Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”
40 And Shimei arose and saddled his donkey and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
41 And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.
42 And the king sent and called Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and solemnly say to you, ‘The day that you go out and walk anywhere, know assuredly that you shall die the death?’ And you said to me, ‘The thing is good. I have heard.’
43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment with which I charged you?”
44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness which your heart perceives that you did to David, my father. Therefore, the LORD shall bring your wickedness upon your own head.
45 “And let King Solomon be blessed, and the throne of David established before the LORD, forever.”
46 So the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and struck him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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