1 Kings 1:1–40

Adonijah Presumes to Be King

1Now King David was ^aold, ¹advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. ²Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her ²stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found ^bAbishag the ^cShunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

⁵Then ^dAdonijah the ³son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will ⁴be king”; and ^ehe prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶(And his father had not ⁵rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. ^fHis mother had borne him after Absalom.) ⁷Then he conferred with ^gJoab the son of Zeruiah and with ^hAbiathar the priest, and ⁱthey followed and helped Adonijah. ⁸But ^jZadok the priest, ^kBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^lNathan the prophet, ^mShimei, Rei, and ⁿthe mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of ⁶Zoheleth, which is by ^oEn Rogel; ⁷he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. ¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or ^pSolomon his brother.

¹¹So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of ^qHaggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹²Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ^r“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) ¹⁶And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

¹⁷Then she said to him, “My lord, ^syou swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. ^19tHe has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king ^urests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

²²And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25vFor he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ^w‘Long ⁸live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Proclaims Solomon King

²⁸Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹And the king took an oath and said, ^x“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, ^30yjust as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

³¹Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, ^z“Let my lord King David live forever!”

³²And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³The king also said to them, ^a“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own ^bmule, and take him down to ^cGihon. ⁹³⁴There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^danoint him king over Israel; and ^eblow the horn, and say, ¹‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, ^f“Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37gAs the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and ^hmake his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ⁱBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, the ^jCherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. ³⁹Then Zadok the priest took a horn of ^koil from the tabernacle and ^lanointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, ^mand all the people said, ²“Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.