1 Kings 1
1
David’s Old Age
1King David had grown old, and although he was covered with blankets, he couldn’t get warm. 2His officials told him, “Your Majesty, let us search for a young woman who has never been married. She can stay with you and be your servant. She can lie in your arms and keep you warm.”
3So they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful, young woman. They found Abishag from Shunem and brought her to the king. 4The woman was very beautiful. She became the king’s servant and took care of him, but the king did not make love to her.
Adonijah Plots to Become King
5Adonijah, son of Haggith,#1:5 Adonijah’s mother was Haggith; his father was David. He was David’s oldest living son. was very handsome. His mother gave birth to him after she had Absalom.#1:5 “very handsome … Absalom.” These words are the last part of verse 6 (in Hebrew). They have been placed at the beginning of verse 5 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English. Adonijah was boasting that he was king. So he got a chariot and horses and 50 men to run ahead of him. 6His father had never confronted him by asking why he was doing this. 7But Adonijah had discussed his actions with Joab (son of Zeruiah) and with the priest Abiathar, so they supported him. 8But the priest Zadok, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David’s ⌞thirty⌟ fighting men did not join Adonijah.
9Adonijah sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves at Zoheleth Rock near En Rogel. He had invited all his brothers, the king’s ⌞other⌟ sons, all the men of Judah, and the king’s officials. 10But he didn’t invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the fighting men, or his brother Solomon.
The Prophet Nathan Helps Solomon Become King
11Then Nathan asked Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, “Haven’t you heard that Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has become king, and our master David doesn’t ⌞even⌟ know about it? 12Bathsheba, let me give you some advice about how to save your life and your son’s life. 13Go to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn’t you swear to me that my son Solomon will be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Why is Adonijah acting as king?’ 14And while you’re still there talking to the king, I’ll come in and confirm what you have said.”
15Bathsheba went to the king in his private room. The king was very old, and Abishag from Shunem was taking care of him. 16Bathsheba knelt and bowed down in front of the king. “What do you want?” the king asked.
17“Sir,” she answered, “You took an oath to the Lord your God. You said that my son Solomon will be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne. 18But now, you see, Adonijah has become king, and you don’t ⌞even⌟ know anything about it, Your Majesty. 19He has sacrificed many fattened calves, bulls, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army ⌞to his feast⌟. But he hasn’t invited your servant Solomon. 20All Israel is looking to you, Your Majesty, to tell them who should succeed you on your throne. 21Otherwise, my son Solomon and I will be treated like criminals when you lie down in death with your ancestors.”
22While she was still talking to the king, the prophet Nathan arrived. 23The servants told the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” When he came to the king, he bowed down in front of him. 24Nathan said, “Your Majesty, you must have said that Adonijah will be king after you and that he will sit on your throne, 25because today he went and sacrificed many bulls, fattened calves, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the army’s commanders, and the priest Abiathar ⌞to his feast⌟. They are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But he didn’t invite me or the priest Zadok or Benaiah, who is Jehoiada’s son, or your servant Solomon. 27Did you allow this to happen without telling me who would sit on your throne next?”
28Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba in here.” So she stood in front of him, 29and he swore an oath. He said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord who has saved my life from all trouble lives, 30I will do today exactly what I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel. Your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne.”
31Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face touching the ground in front of the king. “May Your Majesty, King David, live forever!” she said.
32King David said, “Summon the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada.” So they came to the king, 33and he said, “Take my officials with you. Put my son Solomon on my mule, and take him to Gihon. 34Have the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan anoint him king of Israel there. Then blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35Follow him ⌞back⌟ here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will be king in place of me. I have appointed him to be the leader of Israel and Judah.”
36“So be it!” Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, answered the king. “The Lord your God says so too. 37As the Lord has been with you, so may he be with Solomon. May Solomon be an even greater king than you, King David.”
38Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the Cherethites, and the Pelethites put Solomon on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. 39The priest Zadok took the container of olive oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40All the people followed him, blew flutes, and celebrated so loudly that their voices shook the ground.
Adonijah’s Plot Fails
41Adonijah and all his guests heard this as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the horn, he asked, “What’s the reason for the noise in the city?” 42He was still speaking when Jonathan, son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “You’re an honorable man, so you must be bringing good news.”
43“Not at all,” Jonathan answered Adonijah. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king. 44The king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the Cherethites, and the Pelethites with him. They have put him on the king’s mule. 45The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king at Gihon. They have come from there celebrating, so the city is excited. That is the sound you heard. 46Solomon is now seated on the royal throne. 47Furthermore, the royal officials have come ⌞to congratulate⌟ His Majesty King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his reign greater than your reign.’ The king himself bowed down on his bed 48and said, ‘Praise the Lord God of Israel who has let me see the heir to my throne.’ ”
49Adonijah’s guests were frightened, so they got up and scattered in all directions. 50Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. He got up, went ⌞to the tent of meeting,⌟ and took hold of the horns of the altar.#1:50 Holding on to the horns of the altar was an appeal for mercy. 51Someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you, King Solomon. He is holding on to the horns of the altar and saying, ‘Make King Solomon swear to me today that he will not have me killed.’ ”
52Solomon said, “If he will behave like an honorable man, not one hair on his head will fall to the ground. But if he does ⌞anything⌟ wrong, he will die.” 53King Solomon sent men to take him from the altar. Adonijah bowed down in front of King Solomon. “Go home,” Solomon told him.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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