- When King David was old and well advanced
in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him.
- So his servants said to him, "Let
us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She
can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm."
- Then they searched throughout Israel for
a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the
king.
- The girl was very beautiful; she took care
of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with
her.
- Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith,
put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots
and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.
- (His father had never interfered with him
by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome
and was born next after Absalom.)
- Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah
and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support.
- But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada,
Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join
Adonijah.
- Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle
and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all
his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials,
- but he did not invite Nathan the prophet
or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.
- Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's
mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has
become king without our lord David's knowing it?
- Now then, let me advise you how you can
save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
- Go in to King David and say to him, 'My
lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon
your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why
then has Adonijah become king ?'
- While you are still there talking to the
king, I will come in and confirm what you have said."
- So Bathsheba went to see the aged king
in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him.
- Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the
king. "What is it you want?" the king asked.
- She said to him, "My lord, you yourself
swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be
king after me, and he will sit on my throne.'
- But now Adonijah has become king, and you,
my lord the king, do not know about it.
- He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle,
fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar
the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon
your servant.
- My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel
are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the
king after him.
- Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king
is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as
criminals."
- While she was still speaking with the king,
Nathan the prophet arrived.
- And they told the king, "Nathan the
prophet is here." So he went before the king and bowed with his face
to the ground.
- Nathan said, "Have you, my lord the
king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit
on your throne ?
- Today he has gone down and sacrificed great
numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's
sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they
are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah
!'
- But me your servant, and Zadok the priest,
and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite.
- Is this something my lord the king has
done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my
lord the king after him ?"
- Then King David said, "Call in Bathsheba."
So she came into the king's presence and stood before him.
- The king then took an oath: "As surely
as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,
- I will surely carry out today what I swore
to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after
me, and he will sit on my throne in my place."
- Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face
to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, "May my lord King
David live forever !"
- King David said, "Call in Zadok the
priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they
came before the king,
- he said to them: "Take your lord's
servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down
to Gihon.
- There have Zadok the priest and Nathan
the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long
live King Solomon!'
- Then you are to go up with him, and he
is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed
him ruler over Israel and Judah."
- Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king,
"Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it.
- As the LORD was with my lord the king,
so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne
of my lord King David !"
- So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet,
Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and
put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon.
- Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from
the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and
all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon
!"
- And all the people went up after him, playing
flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.
- Adonijah and all the guests who were with
him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of
the trumpet, Joab asked, "What's the meaning of all the noise in the
city ?"
- Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of
Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in. A worthy man
like you must be bringing good news."
- "Not at all!" Jonathan answered.
"Our lord King David has made Solomon king.
- The king has sent with him Zadok the priest,
Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites,
and they have put him on the king's mule,
- and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet
have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering,
and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear.
- Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on
the royal throne.
- Also, the royal officials have come to
congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name
more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king
bowed in worship on his bed
- and said, 'Praise be to the LORD, the God
of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'"
- At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in
alarm and dispersed.
- But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went
and took hold of the horns of the altar.
- Then Solomon was told, "Adonijah is
afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says,
'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to
death with the sword.'"
- Solomon replied, "If he shows himself
to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but
if evil is found in him, he will die."
- Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought
him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon,
and Solomon said, "Go to your home."
Back |
Home
|
Next