1 Kings 1-3

I Kings 1

¹Now King David was old and far on in years; and though they put covers over him, his body was cold.

²So his servants said to him, Let search be made for a young virgin for my lord the king, to take care of him and be waiting on him; and you may take her in your arms, and so my lord the king will be warm.

³So after searching through all the land of Israel for a fair young girl, they saw Abishag the Shunammite, and took her to the king.

⁴Now she was very beautiful; and she took care of the king, waiting on him at all times; but the king had no connection with her.

⁵Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, lifting himself up in pride, said, I will become king; and he made ready his carriages of war and his horsemen, with fifty runners to go before him.

⁶Now all his life his father had never gone against him or said to him, Why have you done so? and he was a very good-looking man, and younger than Absalom.

⁷And he had talk with Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they were on his side and gave him their support.

⁸But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei, and David's men of war did not take the side of Adonijah.

⁹Then Adonijah put to death sheep and oxen and fat beasts by the stone of Zoheleth, by En-rogel; and he sent for all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants, to come to him:

¹⁰But he did not send for Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the other men of war and Solomon his brother.

¹¹Then Nathan said to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, Has it not come to your ears that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king without the knowledge of David our lord?

¹²So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king?

¹⁴And while you are still talking there with the king, see, I will come in after you and say that your story is true.

¹⁵Then Bath-sheba went into the king's room; now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on him.

¹⁶And Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour. And he said, What is your desire?

¹⁷And she said to him, My lord, you took an oath by the Lord your God and gave your word to your servant, saying, Truly, Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom.

¹⁸And now, see, Adonijah has made himself king without my lord's knowledge;

¹⁹And has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the captain of the army; but he has not sent for Solomon your servant.

²⁰And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him.

²¹For as things are, it will come about, when my lord the king is sleeping with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son will be made outlaws.

²²And while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

²³And they said to the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he went down on his face on the earth.

²⁴And Nathan said, O my lord king, have you said, Adonijah is to be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom?

²⁵Because today he has gone down and has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the king's sons to come to him, with the captains of the army and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting before him and crying, Long life to King Adonijah!

²⁶But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not sent for.

²⁷Has this thing been done by my lord the king, without giving word to your servants who was to be placed on my lord the king's seat after him?

²⁸Then King David in answer said, Send for Bath-sheba to come to me. And she came in and took her place before the king.

²⁹And the king took an oath, and said, By the living Lord, who has been my saviour from all my troubles,

³⁰As I took an oath to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Certainly Solomon your son will become king after me, seated on my seat in my place; so will I do this day.

³¹Then Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour, and said, May my lord King David go on living for ever.

³²And King David said, Send for Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

³³And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and put Solomon my son on my beast, yes, mine, and take him down to Gihon;

³⁴And there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him to make him king over Israel; and sounding the horn say, Long life to King Solomon!

³⁵Then come up after him and he will come in and take his place on the seat of my kingdom; for he is to be king in my place, and I have given orders that he is to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

³⁶And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answering the king, said, So be it: and may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so.

³⁷As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon and make the seat of his authority greater than that of my lord King David.

³⁸So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and put Solomon on King David's beast and took him to Gihon.

³⁹And Zadok the priest took the vessel of oil out of the Tent, and put the holy oil on Solomon. And when the horn was sounded, all the people said, Long life to King Solomon!

⁴⁰And all the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and they were glad with great joy, so that the earth was shaking with the sound.

⁴¹And it came to the ears of Adonijah and all the guests who were with him, when their meal was ended. And Joab, hearing the sound of the horn, said, What is the reason of this noise as if the town was worked up?

⁴²And while the words were on his lips, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, came; and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a man of good faith and the news which you have for us will be good.

⁴³And Jonathan, answering, said to Adonijah, Not so, but our lord King David has made Solomon king:

⁴⁴And he sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they put him on the king's beast:

⁴⁵And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him and made him king in Gihon; and they came back from there with joy, and the town was all worked up. This is the noise which has come to your ears.

⁴⁶And now Solomon is seated on the seat of the kingdom.

⁴⁷And the king's servants came to our lord King David, blessing him and saying, May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and the seat of his authority greater than your seat; and the king was bent low in worship on his bed.

⁴⁸Then the king said, May the God of Israel be praised, who has given one of my seed to be king in my place this day and has let my eyes see it.

⁴⁹And all the guests of Adonijah got up in fear and went away, every man to his place.

⁵⁰And Adonijah himself was full of fear because of Solomon; and he got up and went to the altar, and put his hands on its horns.

⁵¹And they gave Solomon word of it, saying, See, Adonijah goes in such fear of King Solomon, that he has put his hands on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon first give me his oath that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.

⁵²And Solomon said, If he is seen to be a man of good faith, not a hair of him will be touched; but if any wrongdoing is seen in him, he is to be put to death.

⁵³So King Solomon sent, and they took him down from the altar. And he came and gave honour to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.

I Kings 2

¹Now the time of David's death came near; and he gave orders to Solomon his son, saying,

²I am going the way of all the earth: so be strong and be a man;

³And keep the orders of the Lord your God, walking in his ways, keeping his laws and his orders and his rules and his words, as they are recorded in the law of Moses; so that you may do well in all you do and wherever you go,

⁴So that the Lord may give effect to what he said of me, If your children give attention to their ways, living uprightly before me with all their heart and their soul, you will never be without a man to be king in Israel.

⁵Now you have knowledge of what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, and to the two captains of the army of Israel, Abner, the son of Ner, and Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he put to death, taking payment for the blood of war in time of peace, and making the band of my clothing and the shoes on my feet red with the blood of one put to death without cause.

⁶So be guided by your wisdom, and let not his white head go down to the underworld in peace.

⁷But be good to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be guests at your table; for so they came to me when I went in flight from Absalom your brother.

⁸Now you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjamite of Bahurim, who put a bitter curse on me on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to see me at Jordan, and I gave him my oath by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death by the sword.

⁹But do not let him be free from punishment, for you are a wise man; and it will be clear to you what you have to do with him; see that his white head goes down to the underworld in blood.

¹⁰Then David went to rest with his fathers, and his body was put into the earth in the town of David.

¹¹David was king over Israel for forty years: for seven years he was king in Hebron and for thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

¹²And Solomon took his place on the seat of David his father, and his kingdom was made safe and strong.

¹³Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, Come you in peace? And he said, Yes, in peace.

¹⁴Then he said, I have something to say to you. And she said, Say on.

¹⁵And he said, You saw how the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had the idea that I would be their king; but now the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother's, for it was given to him by the Lord.

¹⁶Now I have one request to make to you, and do not say, No, to me. And she said to him, Say on.

¹⁷Then he said, Will you go to Solomon the king (for he will not say, No, to you) and put before him my request that he will give me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife?

¹⁸And Bath-sheba said, Good! I will make your request to the king.

¹⁹So Bath-sheba went to King Solomon to have talk with him on Adonijah's account. And the king got up to come to her, and went down low to the earth before her; then he took his place on the king's seat and had a seat made ready for the king's mother and she took her place at his right hand.

²⁰Then she said, I have one small request to make to you; do not say, No, to me. And the king said, Say on, my mother, for I will not say, No, to you.

²¹And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother for a wife.

²²Then King Solomon made answer and said to his mother, Why are you requesting me to give Abishag the Shunammite to Adonijah? Take the kingdom for him in addition, for he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, are on his side.

²³Then King Solomon took an oath by the Lord, saying, May God's punishment be on me if Adonijah does not give payment for these words with his life.

²⁴Now by the living Lord, who has given me my place on the seat of David my father, and made me one of a line of kings, as he gave me his word, truly Adonijah will be put to death this day.

²⁵And King Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and he made an attack on him and put him to death.

²⁶And to Abiathar the priest the king said, Go to Anathoth, to your fields; for death would be your right reward; but I will not put you to death now, because you took up the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and you were with him in all his troubles.

²⁷So Solomon let Abiathar be priest no longer, so that he might make the word of the Lord come true which he said about the sons of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸And news of this came to Joab; for Joab had been one of Adonijah's supporters, though he had not been on Absalom's side. Then Joab went in flight to the Tent of the Lord, and put his hands on the horns of the altar.

²⁹And they said to King Solomon, Joab has gone in flight to the Tent of the Lord and is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, make an attack on him.

³⁰And Benaiah came to the Tent of the Lord and said to him, The king says, Come out. And he said, No; but let death come to me here. And Benaiah went back to the king and gave him word of the answer which Joab had given.

³¹And the king said, Do as he has said and make an attack on him there, and put his body into the earth; so that you may take away from me and from my family the blood of one put to death by Joab without cause.

³²And the Lord will send back his blood on his head, because of the attack he made on two men more upright and better than himself, putting them to the sword without my father's knowledge; even Abner, the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.

³³So their blood will be on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for ever; but for David and his seed and his family and the seat of his kingdom, there will be peace for ever from the Lord.

³⁴So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up, and falling on him, put him to death; and his body was put to rest in his house in the waste land.

³⁵And the king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the army; and Zadok the priest he put in the place of Abiathar.

³⁶Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Make a house for yourself in Jerusalem and keep there and go to no other place.

³⁷For be certain that on the day when you go out and go over the stream Kidron, death will overtake you: and your blood will be on your head.

³⁸And Shimei said to the king, Very well! as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And for a long time Shimei went on living in Jerusalem.

³⁹But after three years, two of the servants of Shimei went in flight to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And word was given to Shimei that his servants had gone to Gath.

⁴⁰Then Shimei got up, and making ready his ass, he went to Gath, to Achish, in search of his servants; and he sent and got them from Gath.

⁴¹And news was given to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back again.

⁴²Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make you take an oath by the Lord, protesting to you and saying, Be certain that on the day when you go out from here, wherever you go, death will overtake you? and you said to me, Very well!

⁴³Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the order which I gave you?

⁴⁴And the king said to Shimei, You have knowledge of all the evil which you did to David my father; and now the Lord has sent back your evil on yourself.

⁴⁵But a blessing will be on King Solomon, and the kingdom of David will keep its place before the Lord for ever.

⁴⁶So the king gave orders to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and, falling on him, put him to death. And Solomon's authority over the kingdom was complete.

I Kings 3

¹Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife, keeping her in the town of David, till the house he was building for himself, and the house of the Lord and the wall round Jerusalem, were complete.

²But all this time the people were making their offerings in the high places, because no house had been put up to the name of the Lord till those days.

³And Solomon, in his love for the Lord, kept the laws of David his father; but he made offerings and let them go up in smoke on the high places.

⁴And the king went to Gibeon to make an offering there, because that was the chief high place: it was Solomon's way to make a thousand burned offerings on that altar.

⁵In Gibeon, Solomon had a vision of the Lord in a dream by night; and God said to him, Say what I am to give you.

⁶And Solomon said, Great was your mercy to David my father, as his life before you was true and upright and his heart was true to you; and you have kept for him this greatest mercy, a son to take his place this day.

⁷And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; and I am only a young boy, with no knowledge of how to go out or come in.

⁸And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given.

⁹Give your servant, then, a wise heart for judging your people, able to see what is good and what evil; for who is able to be the judge of this great people?

¹⁰Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord.

¹¹And God said to him, Because your request is for this thing, and not for long life for yourself or for wealth or for the destruction of your haters, but for wisdom to be a judge of causes;

¹²I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.

¹³And with this I have given you what you made no request for: wealth and honour, so that no king was ever your equal.

¹⁴And if you go on in my ways, keeping my laws and my orders as your father David did, I will give you a long life.

¹⁵And Solomon, awakening, saw that it was a dream; then he came to Jerusalem, where he went before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings; and he made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king;

¹⁷And one of them said, O my lord, I and this woman are living in the same house; and I gave birth to a child by her side in the house.

¹⁸And three days after the birth of my child, this woman had a child: we were together, no other-person was with us in the house but we two only.

¹⁹In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death.

²⁰And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was sleeping; and she took it in her arms and put her dead child in my arms.

²¹And when I got up to give my child the breast, I saw that it was dead; but in the morning, looking at it with care, I saw that it was not my son.

²²And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king.

²³Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.

²⁴Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king.

²⁵And the king said, Let the living child be cut in two and one half given to one woman and one to the other.

²⁶Then the mother of the living child came forward, for her heart went out to her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the child; do not on any account put it to death. But the other woman said, It will not be mine or yours; let it be cut in two.

²⁷Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.

²⁸And news of this decision which the king had made went through all Israel; and they had fear of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to give decisions.