The Daily Audio Bible

1 King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn’t get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes. ² His servants said to him, “Let us try to find a young virgin for my lord the king. She can wait on the king and be a companion for him, and she can lie next to you, so that my lord the king will get some heat.” ³ After looking through all of Isra’el’s territory for a beautiful girl, they found Avishag the Shunamit and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful and became a companion for the king. She took care of him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.

⁵ Adoniyah the son of Haggit was beginning to claim that he would be king; to this end he organized chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never in his life confronted him by asking, “Why are you behaving this way?” Moreover, he was a very handsome man; he was born next after Avshalom.) ⁷ He conferred with Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah and Evyatar the cohen; and they both supported Adoniyah. ⁸ But Tzadok the cohen, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, Natan the prophet, Shim‘i, Re‘i and David’s elite guard were not on Adoniyah’s side.

⁹ One day Adoniyah killed sheep, oxen and fattened calves at the Stone of Zochelet, by ‘Ein-Rogel. He summoned all his brothers the king’s sons, and all the men of Y’hudah the king’s servants; ¹⁰ but he did not summon Natan the prophet, B’nayah, the elite guard or Shlomo his brother.

¹¹ Natan went to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo and said, “Haven’t you heard that Adoniyah the son of Haggit has become king without the knowledge of David our lord? ¹² Now, come, please let me give you advice, so that you can save both your own life and that of your son Shlomo. ¹³ Go, get in to see King David, and say to him, ‘My lord, king, didn’t you swear to your servant, “Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why is Adoniyah king?’ ¹⁴ Right then, while you are still talking with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm what you are saying.”

¹⁵ Bat-Sheva went in to the king in his room. (The king was very old; Avishag the Shunamit was in attendance on the king.) ¹⁶ Bat-Sheva bowed, prostrating herself to the king. The king asked, “What do you want?” ¹⁷ She answered him, “My lord, you swore by Adonai your God to your servant, ‘Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now, here is Adoniyah ruling as king; and you, my lord the king, don’t know anything about it. ¹⁹ He has killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the sons of the king, Evyatar the cohen and Yo’av the commander of the army; but he didn’t summon Shlomo your servant. ²⁰ As for you, my lord the king, all Isra’el is watching you; they are waiting for you to tell them who is to sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ If you don’t, then, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, I and my son Shlomo will be considered criminals.”

²² Right then, while she was still talking with the king, Natan the prophet entered. ²³ They told the king, “Natan the prophet is here.” After coming into the king’s presence, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Natan said, “My lord king, did you say, ‘Adoniyah is to be king after me; he will sit on my throne’? ²⁵ For he has gone down today and killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Evyatar the cohen; right now they are eating and drinking in his presence and proclaiming, ‘Long live King Adoniyah!’ ²⁶ But he didn’t summon me your servant, or Tzadok the cohen, or B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada or your servant Shlomo. ²⁷ Is this authorized by my lord the king without your having told your servant who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸ King David answered by saying, “Summon Bat-Sheva to me.” She entered the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ Then the king swore an oath: “As Adonai lives, who has delivered me from all adversity, ³⁰ as I swore to you by Adonai the God of Isra’el, ‘Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne in my place,’ so will I do today.” ³¹ Bat-Sheva bowed with her face to the ground, prostrating herself to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever.”

³² King David said, “Summon Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet and B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada.” They came before the king. ³³ The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, have Shlomo my son ride on my own mule and bring him down to Gichon. ³⁴ There Tzadok the cohen and Natan the prophet are to anoint him king over Isra’el. Sound the shofar and say, “Long live King Shlomo!” ³⁵ Then escort him back; he is to come and sit on my throne; for he is to take my place as king. I have appointed him to rule over Isra’el and Y’hudah.” ³⁶ B’nayah responded to the king by saying, “Amen! May Adonai, the God of my lord the king, confirm it! ³⁷ Just as Adonai has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Shlomo and make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada and the K’reti and P’leti went down, had Shlomo ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gichon. ³⁹ Tzadok the cohen took the horn of olive oil out of the tent and anointed Shlomo. They sounded the shofar, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Shlomo!” ⁴⁰ All the people escorted him back, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the earth shook with the sound.

⁴¹ Adoniyah and all his guests heard it while they were finishing their meal; but it was Yo’av who, when he heard the blast on the shofar, asked, “That noise — what’s the meaning of this uproar in the city?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, there came Yonatan the son of Evyatar the cohen. Adoniyah said, “Come in! You’re a worthy man, so you must be bringing good news!” ⁴³ Yonatan answered Adoniyah, “The truth is, our lord King David has made Shlomo king. ⁴⁴ Moreover, the king sent with him Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada and the K’reti and P’leti; they had him ride on the king’s mule; ⁴⁵ and Tzadok the cohen and Natan the prophet anointed him king in Gichon. Then they escorted him back from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar; this is the noise you’ve been hearing. ⁴⁶ Moreover, Shlomo is now sitting on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ More than that, the king’s servants came and blessed our lord King David with these words: ‘May God make the name of Shlomo better than your name and his throne greater than your throne,’ after which the king bowed down on the bed. ⁴⁸ Finally, the king said, ‘Blessed be Adonai the God of Isra’el, who has given someone to sit on my throne today, when my own eyes can see it.’”

⁴⁹ At this all Adoniyah’s guests grew frightened; they got up, everyone going his own way. ⁵⁰ Adoniyah too was afraid because of Shlomo; he got up, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Shlomo was told, “Here, Adoniyah is terrified of King Shlomo; he has grabbed hold of the horns of the altar and is saying, ‘First let King Shlomo swear to me that he will not have his servant executed.’” ⁵² Shlomo said, “If he will demonstrate that he is a worthy man, not a hair of his will fall to the earth. But if he is found making trouble, he will die.” ⁵³ So King Shlomo sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and prostrated himself before King Shlomo; and Shlomo said to him, ‘Go on home.’”

4 Kefa and Yochanan were still speaking to the people when the cohanim, the captain in charge of the Temple police, and the Tz’dukim came upon them, ² very annoyed that they were teaching the people the doctrine of resurrection from the dead and offering Yeshua as proof. ³ The Temple police arrested them; and since it was already evening, they put them in custody overnight. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the message trusted; the number of men alone was about five thousand.

⁵ The next day, the people’s rulers, elders and Torah-teachers assembled in Yerushalayim, ⁶ along with ‘Anan the cohen hagadol, Kayafa, Yochanan, Alexander and the other men from the family of the cohen hagadol. ⁷ They had the emissaries stand before them and asked, “By what power or in what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Kefa, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being examined today about a good deed done for a disabled person, if you want to know how he was restored to health, ¹⁰ then let it be known to you and to all the people of Isra’el that it is in the name of the Messiah, Yeshua from Natzeret, whom you had executed on a stake as a criminal but whom God has raised from the dead, that this man stands before you perfectly healed.

¹¹ “This Yeshua is the stone rejected by you builders which has become the cornerstone.^{[a] 12} There is salvation in no one else! For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!”

¹³ When they saw how bold Kefa and Yochanan were, even though they were untrained ‘am-ha’aretz, they were amazed; also they recognized them as having been with Yeshua. ¹⁴ Moreover, since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there beside them, there was nothing they could say to discredit the healing. ¹⁵ So they told them to step away from the Sanhedrin while they discussed the matter privately. ¹⁶ “What can we do with these men?” they asked each other. “Why, anyone in Yerushalayim can see that a remarkable miracle has come about through them — we can’t possibly deny that. ¹⁷ But to prevent it from spreading any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any more to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ So they called them in again and ordered them under no circumstances to speak or teach in the name of Yeshua. ¹⁹ But Kefa and Yochanan answered, “You must judge whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God. ²⁰ As for us, we can’t help talking about what we have actually seen and heard.” ²¹ They threatened them some more but finally let them go — they couldn’t punish them because of the people, for everyone was praising God over what had happened, ²² since the man who had been miraculously healed was more than forty years old.

²³ Upon being released, they went back to their friends and reported what the head cohanim and elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard it, they raised their voices to God with singleness of heart. “Master,” they prayed, “You made heaven, earth, the sea and everything in them.^{[b] 25} By the Ruach HaKodesh, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, you said,

²⁷ “This has come true in this city, since Herod and Pontius Pilate, with Goyim and the peoples of Isra’el, all assembled against your holy servant Yeshua, whom you made Messiah, ²⁸ to do what your power and plan had already determined beforehand should happen.

²⁹ “So now, Lord, take note of their threats; and enable your slaves to speak your message with boldness! ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and to do signs and miracles through the name of your holy servant Yeshua!”

³¹ While they were still praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, and they spoke God’s message with boldness.

³² All the many believers were one in heart and soul, and no one claimed any of his possessions for himself, but everyone shared everything he had. ³³ With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard. ³⁴ No one among them was poor, since those who owned lands or houses sold them and turned over the proceeds ³⁵ to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need. ³⁶ Thus Yosef, whom the emissaries called Bar-Nabba (which means “the Exhorter”), a Levi and a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a field which belonged to him and brought the money to the emissaries.