1 Kings 1:1–40

^*Now king David was old and ^†stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. ²Wherefore his servants 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 ^†cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. ³So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a ^aShunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

⁵Then ^bAdonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will ^†be king: and ^che prepared him chariots and horsemen, 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 a very goodly man; ^dand his mother bare him after Absalom. ⁷And ^†he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with ^eAbiathar the priest: and ^fthey ^†following Adonijah helped him. ⁸But ^eZadok the priest, and ^gBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, and ^hNathan the prophet, and ⁱShimei, and Rei, and ^jthe mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. ⁹And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by ^||En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants: ¹⁰But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and ^kSolomon his brother, he called not.

¹¹Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? ¹²Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. ¹³Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, ^lAssuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? ¹⁴Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and ^†confirm thy words. ¹⁵And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and ^mAbishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. ¹⁶And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, ^†What wouldest thou? ¹⁷And she said unto him, My lord, ⁿthou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. ¹⁸And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: ^19oAnd he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. ²⁰And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest 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 ^psleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted ^†offenders. ²²And, lo, while she yet talked 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? ^25qFor he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath 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, ^†God save king Adonijah. ^26rBut me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. ²⁷Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? ²⁸Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came ^†into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. ²⁹And the king sware, and said, ^sAs the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, ^30tEven as I sware 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 Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, ^uLet my lord king David live for ever.

³²And king David said, ^wCall me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. ³³The king also said unto them, Take with you ^xthe servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon ^†mine own mule, and bring him down to ^yGihon: ³⁴And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^zanoint him there king over Israel: and ^ablow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. ³⁵Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. ³⁶And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37bAs the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and ^cmake 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 ^dCherethites, and the ^ePelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹And Zadok the priest took an horn of ^foil out of the tabernacle, and ^ganointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and ^hall the people said, God save king Solomon. ⁴⁰And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with ^||pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.