1 Kings 1
1
King David in his Old Age
1King David was now a very old man, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. 2So his officials said to him, “Your Majesty, let us find a young woman to stay with you and take care of you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.” 3A search was made all over Israel for a beautiful young woman, and in Shunem they found such a woman named Abishag, and brought her to the king. 4She was very beautiful, and waited on the king and took care of him, but he did not have intercourse with her.
Adonijah Claims the Throne
5-6 #
2 Sam 3.4
Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith, was the eldest surviving son. He was a very handsome man. David had never reprimanded him about anything, and he was ambitious to be king. He provided for himself chariots, horses, and an escort of fifty men. 7He talked with Joab (whose mother was Zeruiah) and with Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to support his cause. 8But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's bodyguard were not on Adonijah's side.
9One day Adonijah offered a sacrifice of sheep, bulls, and fattened calves at Snake Rock, near the spring of Enrogel. He invited the other sons of King David and the king's officials who were from Judah to come to this sacrificial feast, 10but he did not invite his half brother Solomon or Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the king's bodyguard.
Solomon is Made King
11 #
2 Sam 12.24
Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and asked her, “Haven't you heard that Haggith's son Adonijah has made himself king? And King David doesn't know anything about it! 12If you want to save your life and the life of your son Solomon, I would advise you 13to go at once to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn't you solemnly promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king? How is it, then, that Adonijah has become king?’ ” 14And Nathan added, “Then, while you are still talking with King David, I will come in and confirm your story.”
15So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag, the woman from Shunem, was taking care of him. 16Bathsheba bowed low before the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”
17She answered, “Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the LORD your God that my son Solomon would be king after you. 18But Adonijah has already become king, and you don't know anything about it. 19He has offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves, and he invited your sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of your army to the feast, but he did not invite your son Solomon. 20Your Majesty, all the people of Israel are looking to you to tell them who is to succeed you as king. 21If you don't, as soon as you are dead my son Solomon and I will be treated as traitors.”
22She was still speaking, when Nathan arrived at the palace. 23The king was told that the prophet was there, and Nathan went in and bowed low before the king. 24Then he said, “Your Majesty, have you announced that Adonijah would succeed you as king? 25This very day he has gone and offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves. He invited all your sons, Joab the commander of your army,#1.25 One ancient translation Joab the commander of your army; Hebrew your army commanders. and Abiathar the priest, and just now they are feasting with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But he did not invite me, sir, or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah, or Solomon. 27Did Your Majesty approve all this and not even tell your officials who is to succeed you as king?”
28King David said, “Ask Bathsheba to come back in” — and she came and stood before him. 29Then he said to her, “I promise you by the living LORD, who has rescued me from all my troubles, 30that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king.”
31Bathsheba bowed low and said, “May my lord the king live for ever!”
32Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in, 33he said to them, “Take my court officials with you; let my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to the spring of Gihon, 34where Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler of Israel and Judah.”
36“It shall be done,” answered Benaiah, “and may the LORD your God confirm it. 37As the LORD has been with Your Majesty, may he also be with Solomon, and make his reign even more prosperous than yours.”
38So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguard put Solomon on King David's mule, and escorted him to the spring of Gihon. 39Zadok took the container of olive oil which he had brought from the Tent of the LORD's presence, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40Then they all followed him back, shouting for joy and playing flutes, making enough noise to shake the ground.
41As Adonijah and all his guests were finishing the feast, they heard the noise. And when Joab heard the trumpet, he asked, “What's the meaning of all that noise in the city?” 42Before he finished speaking, Jonathan, the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “You're a good man — you must be bringing good news.”
43“I'm afraid not,” Jonathan answered. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king. 44He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguard to escort him. They made him ride on the king's mule, 45and Zadok and Nathan anointed him as king at the spring of Gihon. Then they went into the city, shouting for joy, and the people are now in an uproar. That's the noise you just heard. 46Solomon is now the king. 47What is more, the court officials went in to pay their respects to His Majesty King David, and said, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you, and may Solomon's reign be even more prosperous than yours.’ Then King David bowed in worship on his bed 48and prayed, ‘Let us praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has today made one of my descendants succeed me as king, and has let me live to see it!’ ”
49Then Adonijah's guests were afraid, and they all got up and left, each going his own way. 50Adonijah, in great fear of Solomon, went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.#1.50 corners of the altar: Small projections at the four corners of the altar that looked like horns. Anyone holding on to them was safe from being killed. 51King Solomon was told that Adonijah was afraid of him and that he was holding on to the corners of the altar and had said, “First, I want King Solomon to swear to me that he will not have me put to death.”
52Solomon replied, “If he is loyal, not even a hair on his head will be touched; but if he is not, he will die.” 53King Solomon then sent for Adonijah and had him brought down from the altar. Adonijah went to the king and bowed low before him, and the king said to him, “You may go home.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 1
1
David’s Last Days
1Now King David was old and advanced in age.#2Sm 5:4; 1Kg 2:10–11; 1Ch 23:1 Although they covered him with bedclothes, he could not get warm.#Ec 4:11 2So his servants said to him, “Let us#1:2 Lit them search for a young virgin for my lord the king.#Est 2:2 She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm.” 3They searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel; they found Abishag#1Kg 1:15; 2:17 the Shunammite#1:3 Shunem was a town in the hill country of Issachar at the foot of Mt. Moreh; Jos 19:17–18.#Jos 19:18; 1Sm 28:4 and brought her to the king. 4The girl was of unsurpassed beauty,#Est 2:7 and she became the king’s caregiver. She attended to him, but he was not intimate with#1:4 Lit he did not know her.
Adonijah’s Bid for Power
5Adonijah son of Haggith#2Sm 3:4 kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and fifty men to run ahead of him.#1:5 Heralds announcing his procession#2Sm 15:1 6But his father had never once infuriated#1Sm 3:13 him by asking, “Why did you do that?” #2Sm 13:21 In addition, he was quite handsome#2Sm 14:25 and was born after Absalom.#2Sm 3:3–4 7He conspired#1:7 Lit His words were with Joab son of Zeruiah#1Ch 11:6 and with the priest Abiathar.#1Sm 22:20–23; 2Sm 20:25 They supported#1Kg 2:22 Adonijah, 8but the priest Zadok,#2Sm 20:25; 1Ch 16:39–40 Benaiah son of Jehoiada,#2Sm 8:18 the prophet Nathan,#2Sm 7:2; 2:1–25 Shimei,#1Kg 4:18 Rei, and David’s royal guard#1:8 Lit David’s warriors#2Sm 23:8–39 did not side with Adonijah.
9Adonijah sacrificed sheep, goats, cattle, and fattened cattle near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel.#Jos 15:7; 18:16; 2Sm 17:17 He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king,#2Sm 15:11–12 10but he did not invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the royal guard, or his brother Solomon.#1Kg 1:8,26
Nathan’s and Bathsheba’s Appeals
11Then Nathan#2Sm 12:1,25; 1Kg 1:8,10 said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother,#2Sm 12:24 “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king#2Sm 15:10; 1Kg 1:25; 2:15 and our lord David does not know it?#2Sm 3:26; 1Kg 1:18; 2:32 12Now please come and let me advise you.#Pr 15:22 Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.#1Kg 15:29; 2Kg 10:11 13Go, approach King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your servant: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne?#1Kg 1:17,30; 1Ch 22:9–13 So why has Adonijah become king?’ 14At that moment, while you are still there speaking with the king, I’ll come in after you and confirm your words.”#1Kg 1:22–27
15So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was attending to him.#1Kg 1:1–4 16Bathsheba knelt low and paid homage to the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”
17She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.’ 18Now look, Adonijah has become king. And,#1:18 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg, Syr; other Hb mss read And now my lord the king, you didn’t know it. 19He has lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite your servant Solomon. 20Now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his ancestors,#Dt 31:16; 2Sm 7:12; 1Kg 2:10 I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals.”#1Kg 1:12
22At that moment, while she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan arrived,#1Kg 1:14 23and it was announced to the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” He came into the king’s presence and paid homage to him with his face to the ground.
24“My lord the king,” Nathan said, “did you say, ‘Adonijah is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne’? 25For today he went down and lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and the priest Abiathar. And look! They’re eating and drinking in his presence, and they’re saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But he did not invite me — me, your servant — or the priest Zadok or Benaiah son of Jehoiada or your servant Solomon. 27I’m certain my lord the king would not have let this happen without letting your servant#1:27 Some Hb mss, LXX; alt Hb tradition reads servants know who will sit on my lord the king’s throne after him.”
Solomon Confirmed King
28King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. 29The king swore an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty,#2Sm 4:9 30just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place,#1Kg 1:13 that is exactly what I will do this very day.”#1Kg 1:33–35
31Bathsheba knelt low with her face to the ground, paying homage to the king,#1Kg 1:16 and said, “May my lord King David live forever!” #Neh 2:3; Dn 2:4; 3:9
32King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.”#1Kg 1:8,10,26 So they came into the king’s presence. 33The king said to them, “Take my servants#2Sm 20:6 with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule,#2Sm 18:9; Est 6:8; Zch 9:9; Jn 12:14–15 and take him down to Gihon.#2Ch 32:30; 33:14 34There, the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him as king over Israel.#1Sm 10:1; 16:3,13 You are to blow the ram’s horn#2Sm 15:10 and say, ‘Long live King Solomon! ’ #1Sm 10:24; 1Kg 1:25 35You are to come up after him, and he is to come in and sit on my throne. He is the one who is to become king in my place; he is the one I have commanded to be ruler#1Sm 13:14 over Israel and Judah.”#2Sm 2:4; 5:3
36“Amen,” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied to the king. “May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so affirm it.#Jr 28:6 37Just as the Lord was with my lord the king,#1Sm 20:13 so may he#1:37 Alt Hb tradition reads so he will be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”#1Kg 1:47
38Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites#2Sm 8:18 went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon.#1Ch 29:22 Then they blew the ram’s horn,#2Kg 11:14 and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!” #1Sm 10:24 40All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy#Ezr 6:16 that the earth split open from the sound.#1:40 LXX reads the land resounded with their noise
Adonijah Hears of Solomon’s Coronation
41Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with him#1Kg 1:5,7–10 heard the noise as they finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn and said, “Why is the town in such an uproar?” #2Kg 11:12–13 42He was still speaking when Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest,#2Sm 15:27,36 suddenly arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are an important man, and you must be bringing good news.”#2Sm 18:26–27
43“Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44And with Solomon, the king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have had him ride on the king’s mule. 45The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king in Gihon.#1Kg 1:33–35 They have gone up from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that’s the noise you heard. 46Solomon has even taken his seat on the royal throne.#1Ch 29:23
47“The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.’#1Kg 1:37 Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.#Gn 47:31 48And the king went on to say this: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! Today he has provided one to sit on my throne,#2Sm 7:12; 1Kg 3:6 and I am a witness.’”#1:48 Lit and my eyes are seeing
49Then all of Adonijah’s guests got up trembling and went their separate ways. 50Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.#Ex 21:12–14; 1Kg 2:28
51It was reported to Solomon, “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first#1:51 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg read today swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”
52Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground,#1Sm 14:45; 2Sm 14:11; Ac 27:34 but if evil is found in him, he dies.”#1Kg 2:23–25 53So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”
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