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¹ And king Dauid was olde and stricken in yeres, so that whe they couered him with clothes, he caught no heate.² Wherefore his seruauntes sayde vnto him: Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgyn, to stande before the king and to cherishe him, and let her lye in thy bosome, that my lorde the king may get heate.³ And so they sought for a faire damosell throughout al the coastes of Israel, and founde one Abisag a Sunamite, and brought her to the king.⁴ And the damosell was exceeding faire, and cherished the king, and ministred to him: But the king knewe her not.

⁵ And Adonia the sonne of Haggith exalted him selfe, saying: I wilbe king. And he gat him charettes and horsemen, and fyftie men to runne before him.⁶ And his father for his time would not displease him, to say why hast thou done so? And he was a very goodly man: and his mother bare him next after Absalom.⁷ And he toke counsell at Ioab the sonne of Zaruia, and at Abiathar the priest: and they helped forward Adonia:⁸ But Sadoc the priest, Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, Nathan the prophete, Semei, and Rei, and the men of might which were with Dauid, they were not with Adonia.⁹ And Adonia sacrificed sheepe, and oxen, and fat cattel, by the stone of Zoheleth, whiche is by the well of Rogel, and called all his brethren the kinges sonnes, and all the men of Iuda the kinges seruauntes:¹⁰ But Nathan the prophete, and Banaiah, and the mightie men, and Solomon his brother he called not.

¹¹ Wherfore Nathan spake vnto Bethsabe the mother of Solomon, saying: Hast thou not hearde that Adonia the sonne of Haggith doth raigne, and Dauid our lorde knoweth it not?¹² Nowe therfore come, and I will geue thee counsell howe to saue thyne owne lyfe, and the lyfe of thy sonne Solomon.¹³ Go and get thee in vnto king Dauid, & say vnto him: Diddest not thou my lorde O king, sweare vnto thy handmayde, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shall raigne after me, and he shall sit vpon my seate? why is then Adonia king?¹⁴ Beholde, whyle thou yet talkest there with the king, I wil come in after thee, and confirme thy wordes.¹⁵ And Bethsabe went in vnto the king into the chamber: And the king was very olde, and Abisag the Sunamite ministred vnto the king.¹⁶ And Bethsabe stouped & made obeysaunce vnto the king: And the king sayd, What is thy matter?¹⁷ She aunswered: My lorde, thou swarest by the Lorde thy God vnto thine handmayde [saying] Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shall raigne after me, and he shall sit vpon my seate.¹⁸ And beholde, nowe is Adonia king, and thou my lorde the king knowest it not.¹⁹ And he hath offered oxen, fat cattel, and many sheepe, and hath called all the sonnes of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Ioab the captayne of the hoast: But Solomon thy seruaunt hath he not bydden.²⁰ And nowe my lorde O king, the eyes of all Israel wayte on thee, that thou shouldest tell them who ought to sit on the seate of my lord the king after him:²¹ For els when my lorde the king shall sleepe with his fathers, I & my sonne Solomon shalbe synners.²² And lo whyle she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came also.²³ And they told the king, saying: Behold, [here commeth] Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in to the king, he made obeysaunce before the king vpo his face on the grounde.²⁴ And Nathan sayde: My lord (O king) hast thou sayde, Adonia shall raigne after me, and he shall sit vpon my seate?²⁵ For he is gone downe this day, & hath slayne oxen, & fat cattell, and sheepe a great meany, & hath called al the kinges sonnes, and the captaynes of the hoast, and Abiathar the priest: And beholde, they eate & drinke before him, and say: God saue king Adonia.²⁶ But me thy seruaunt, and Sadoc the priest, and Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, & thy seruaunt Solomon, hath he not called.²⁷ Is this thing done of my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it vnto thy seruaunt who should sit on the seate of my lorde the king after him?²⁸ Then king Dauid aunswered, & sayd: Cal me Bethsabe. And she came into the kinges presence, and stoode before him.²⁹ And the king sware, saying: As the Lord lyueth that hath ryd my soule out of all aduersite,³⁰ Euen as I sware vnto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy sonne shal raigne after me, & he shal sit vpon my seate for me: so will I certeinly do this day.³¹ Then Bethsabe bowed on her face to the earth, and dyd reuerence vnto the king, & sayde: I pray God that my lorde king Dauid may lyue for euer.

³² And king Dauid sayde: Call me Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada. And they came before the king.³³ The king also sayde vnto them: Take with you the seruauntes of your lord, & set Solomo my sonne vpon myne owne mule, and cary him downe to Gihon:³⁴ And let Sadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet annoynt him there king ouer Israel: And blowe ye with trumpettes, & say, God saue king Solomon.³⁵ And then ye shall come vp after him, that he may come and sit vpo my seate, for he shalbe king in my steade: and I haue commaunded him to be captayne ouer Israel and Iuda.³⁶ And Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada aunswered the king, and sayde, Amen: And the Lord God of my lorde the king say so to.³⁷ And as the Lorde hath ben with my lord the king, eue so be he with Solomo also, and make his seate greater then the seate of my lord king Dauids hath ben.³⁸ And so Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and the Cerethites, and Phelethites went downe, and set Solomon vpon king Dauids mule, and brought him to Gihon.³⁹ And Sadoc the priest toke an horne of oyle out of the tabernacle, & annoynted Solomon: And they blew the trumpettes, and al the people sayde: God saue king Solomon.⁴⁰ And all the people came vp after him, pyping with pypes and reioysing greatly, so that the earth rang with the sounde of them.

⁴¹ And Adonia and al the ghestes that he had called vnto him, hearde it [euen] as they had made an ende of eating. And when Ioab hearde the sounde of the trumpet, he sayde: What meaneth this noyse and vprore in the citie?⁴² And as he yet spake, beholde Ionathan the sonne of Abiathar the priest came, and Adonia said vnto him: Come in, for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tydinges.⁴³ And Ionathan aunswered and sayde to Adonia: Ueryly our lorde king Dauid hath made Solomon king.⁴⁴ And the king hath sent with him Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, & the Cerethites, and the Phelethites, & they haue set him vpo the kinges mule.⁴⁵ And Sadoc the priest & Nathan the prophete, haue annoynted him king in Gihon. And they came vp from thence, & reioyced, that the citie did sounde againe: And that is the noyse, that ye haue hearde.⁴⁶ And Solomon sitteth on the seate of the kingdome.⁴⁷ And moreouer, the kinges seruauntes came to blesse our lorde king Dauid, saying: God make the name of Solomo more honorable then thy name, & make his seate greater then thy seate. And the king bowed him selfe vpon the bed.⁴⁸ And thus sayd the king: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath made one to sit on my seate this day, myne eye seyng it.⁴⁹ And al the ghestes that were with Adonia were afrayde, and rose vp, & went euery man his way.⁵⁰ And Adonia fearing the presence of Solomon, arose, and went and caught hold on the hornes of the aulter.⁵¹ And one tolde Solomon, saying: Behold, Adonia feareth king Solomon: for lo he hath caught hold on the hornes of the aulter, saying: Let king Solomon sweare vnto me this day that he wil not slay his seruaunt with the sword.⁵² And Solomo said: If he wil shew him selfe a worthy ma, ther shal not an heer of hym fal to the earth: But & if wickednesse be founde in him, he shall dye.⁵³ And so king Solomon sent, and they brought him from the aulter, and he came and did obeysaunce vnto king Solomon: And Solomon sayde vnto him, Get thee to thyne house.