1 Kings 1
1
1 Kings 1
1¶ Now king David was old and stricken in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he did not become warm.
2Therefore, his slaves said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her stand before the king and let her warm him and let her lie in thy bosom, and she shall warm my lord the king.
3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel and found Abishag, a Shunammite and brought her to the king.
4And the damsel was very fair and warmed the king and ministered to him, but the king knew her not.
5¶ Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, I will reign, and he prepared chariots and horsemen for himself and fifty men to run before him.
6And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was very handsome; and he had begotten him after Absalom.
7And he conferred with Joab, the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar, the priest who helped Adonijah.
8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan, the prophet, and Shimei and Rei and the mighty men of David did not follow Adonijah.
9And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s slaves;
10but he did not invite Nathan, the prophet, nor Benaiah nor the mighty men nor Solomon his brother.
11¶ And Nathan spoke unto Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, reigns without David our lord knowing of it?
12Now, therefore, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel that thou may deliver thine own life and the life of thy son Solomon.
13Go and enter in unto King David and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign?
14And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I also will come in after thee and finish thy words.
15And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag, the Shunammite, ministered unto the king.
16And Bathsheba bowed and worshipped the king. And the king said, What dost thou desire?
17And she said unto him, My lord, thou didst sware by the Lord thy God unto thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne;
18and now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and now, my lord the king, thou dost not know it.
19He has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance and has called all the sons of the king and Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the captain of the host; but he has not invited Solomon, thy slave.
20And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee that thou should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21Otherwise, it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers that I and my son Solomon shall be counted as sinners.
22And while she yet spoke with the king, Nathan, the prophet, also came in.
23And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan, the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
25For today he has gone down and has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance and has called all the king’s sons and the captains of the host and Abiathar, the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him and say, Long live King Adonijah.
26But he did not invite me, thy slave, nor Zadok, the priest, nor Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, nor thy slave Solomon.
27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not declared unto thy slave who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
28Then King David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29And the king swore and said, As the Lord lives, who has ransomed my soul out of all distress,
30even as I swore unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth and did reverence to the king and said, Let my lord King David live for ever.
32¶ And King David said, Call me Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they entered into the presence of the king.
33And the king said unto them, Take with you the slaves of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule and bring him down to Gihon.
34And let Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel; and ye shall blow the shofar and say, Long live king Solomon.
35 Afterward ye shall come up after him that he may come and sit upon my throne, for he shall reign in my stead, for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36Then Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answered the king and said, Amen. Let the Lord God of my lord the king say so too.
37As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so let him be with Solomon and let him make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.
38So Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
39And Zadok, the priest, took the horn of the oil of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the shofar, and all the people said, Long live king Solomon.
40 Afterward all the people came up following him, and the people sang with flutes and rejoiced with great joy so that it seemed the earth rent with the sound of them.
41¶ And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it when they had finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the shofar, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
42And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came; and Adonijah said unto him, Come in, for thou art a valiant man and bringest good tidings.
43And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord King David has made Solomon king.
44And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule;
45and Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, have anointed him king in Gihon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.
46And also Solomon has been seated on the throne of the kingdom.
47And moreover, the king’s slaves came to bless our lord King David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king worshipped upon the bed.
48And also thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, mine eyes even seeing it.
49And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went each one his way.
50And Adonijah, fearing the presence of Solomon, arose and went and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
51And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for he has caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his slave with the sword.
52And Solomon said, If he will show himself virtuous, there shall not one hair of him fall to the ground, but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
53So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to King Solomon. And Solomon said unto him, Go to thy house.
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1 Kings 1: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
1 Kings 1
1
Solomon becomes king
David in his old age
1King David was now an old man, and he always felt cold, even under a lot of blankets. 2His officials said, “Your Majesty, we will look for a young woman to take care of you. She can lie down beside you and keep you warm.” 3-4They looked everywhere in Israel until they found a very beautiful young woman named Abishag, who lived in the town of Shunem.#1.3,4 Shunem: A town in northern Israel, just north of Jezreel Valley. They brought her to David, and she took care of him. But David did not have sex with her.
Adonijah tries to become king
5-6Adonijah was the son of David and Haggith. He was Absalom's younger brother#1.5,6 brother: Since Absalom was dead, Adonijah was now David's eldest living son and would be next in line to be king. and was very handsome. One day, Adonijah started boasting, “I'm going to make myself king!” So he got some chariots and horses, and he hired fifty men as bodyguards. David did not want to hurt his feelings, so he never asked Adonijah why he was doing these things.#2 S 3.4.
7Adonijah met with Joab the son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest and asked them if they would help him become king. Both of them agreed to help. 8But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei,#1.8 Shimei, Rei: Or “Shimei his adviser”. and David's bodyguards all refused.
9Adonijah invited his brothers and David's officials from Judah to go with him to Crawling Rock#1.9 Crawling Rock: Or “Zoheleth Rock”. near Rogel Spring, where he sacrificed some sheep, cattle, and fat calves.#1.9 sacrificed…calves: This was part of a ceremony where Adonijah was made the new king. 10But he did not invite Nathan, Benaiah, David's bodyguards, or his own brother Solomon.
11When Nathan heard what had happened, he asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother:#2 S 12.24.
Have you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has made himself king? But David doesn't know a thing about it. 12You and your son Solomon will be killed, unless you do what I tell you. 13Go and say to David, “You promised me that Solomon would be the next king. So why is Adonijah now king?”
14While you are still talking to David, I'll come in and tell him that everything you said is true.
15Meanwhile, David was in his bedroom where Abishag was taking care of him because he was so old. Bathsheba went in 16and bowed down.
“What can I do for you?” David asked.
17Bathsheba answered:
Your Majesty, you promised me in the name of the LORD your God that my son Solomon would be the next king. 18But Adonijah has already been made king, and you didn't know anything about it. 19He sacrificed a lot of cattle, calves, and sheep. And he invited Abiathar the priest, Joab your army commander, and all your sons to be there, except Solomon, your loyal servant.
20Your Majesty, everyone in Israel is waiting for you to announce who will be the next king. 21If you don't, they will say that Solomon and I have rebelled. They will treat us like criminals and kill us as soon as you die.
22Just then, Nathan the prophet arrived. 23Someone told David that he was there, and Nathan came in. He bowed with his face to the ground 24and said:
Your Majesty, did you say that Adonijah would be king? 25Earlier today, he sacrificed a lot of cattle, calves, and sheep. He invited the army commanders, Abiathar, and all your sons to be there. Now they are eating and drinking and shouting, “Long live King Adonijah!” 26But he didn't invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon. 27Did you say they could do this without telling the rest of us who would be the next king?
Solomon becomes king
28David said, “Tell Bathsheba to come here.” She came and stood in front of him. 29-30Then he said, “The living LORD God of Israel has kept me safe. And so today, I will keep the promise I made to you in his name: Solomon will be the next king!”
31Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Your Majesty, I pray that you will live a long time!”
32Then David said, “Tell Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah to come here.”
When they arrived, 33he told them:
Take along some of my officials and let Solomon ride my own mule to Gihon Spring. 34When you get there, Zadok and Nathan will make Solomon the new king of Israel. Then after the ceremony#1.34 the ceremony: Part of this ceremony was pouring olive oil on Solomon's head to show that he was now king. is over, make someone blow a trumpet and tell everyone to shout, “Long live King Solomon!” 35Bring him back here, and he will take my place as king. He is the one I have chosen to rule Israel and Judah.
36Benaiah answered, “We will do it, Your Majesty. I pray that the LORD your God will let it happen. 37The LORD has always watched over you, and I pray that he will now watch over Solomon. May the LORD help Solomon to be an even greater king than you.”
38Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah left and took along the two groups of David's special bodyguards.#1.38 the two…bodyguards: The Hebrew text has “the Cherethites and the Pelethites”, who were foreign soldiers hired by David to be part of his bodyguard. Solomon rode on David's mule as they led him to Gihon Spring. 39Zadok the priest brought some olive oil from the sacred tent and poured it on Solomon's head to show that he was now king. A trumpet was blown and everyone shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40Then they played flutes and celebrated as they followed Solomon back to Jerusalem. They made so much noise that the ground shook.
41Adonijah and his guests had almost finished eating when they heard the noise. Joab also heard the trumpet and asked, “What's all that noise about in the city?”
42Just then, Jonathan son of Abiathar came running up. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “An important man like you must have some good news.”
43Jonathan answered:
No, I haven't! David has just announced that Solomon will be king. 44-45Solomon rode David's own mule to Gihon Spring, and Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and David's special bodyguards#1.44,45 David's special bodyguards: See the note at 1.38. went with him. When they got there, Zadok and Nathan made Solomon king. Then everyone celebrated all the way back to Jerusalem. That's the noise you hear in the city. 46Solomon is now king.
47And listen to this! David's officials told him, “We pray that your God will help Solomon to be an even greater king!”
David was in his bed at the time, but he bowed 48and prayed, “I praise you, LORD God of Israel. You have made my son Solomon king and have let me live to see it.”
49Adonijah's guests shook with fear when they heard this news, and they left as fast as they could. 50Adonijah himself was afraid of what Solomon might do to him, so he ran to the sacred tent and grabbed hold of the corners of the altar for protection.#1.50 the corners…for protection: The four corners of some ancient altars looked like animal horns. Since the entire altar was sacred, anyone holding on to its corners was supposed to be safe from being killed.
51Someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you and is holding on to the corners of the altar. He wants you to promise that you won't kill him.”
52Solomon answered, “If Adonijah doesn't cause any trouble, I won't hurt him. But if he does, I'll have him killed.” 53Then he sent someone to the altar to get Adonijah.
After Adonijah came and bowed down, Solomon said, “Adonijah, go home.”
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