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¹ NOW King David was old and well advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm.² Wherefore his servants said to him, Behold, your servants are before you, let them seek for our lord the king a young virgin; and let her wait upon the king, and let her minister to him, and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may get warm.³ So they sought for a beautiful maiden throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shilommite, and brought her to the king.⁴ And the maiden was very beautiful, and she became the kings attendant and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.

⁵ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.⁶ And his father had never rebuked him at any time by saying, Why have you done so? And he also was a very handsome man; and his mother bore him after Absalom.⁷ And he conferred with Joab the son of Zoriah and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him.⁸ But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.⁹ And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the great stone which is by En-kasra, and he invited all his brothers, the kings sons, and all the men of Judah and the kings servants;¹⁰ But he did not invite Nathan the prophet; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and Davids mighty men; and Solomon his brother;

¹¹ Wherefore Nathan the prophet said to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, Have you not heard that Adonijah has become king, and David our lord does not know it?¹² Now therefore come, let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.¹³ Go and get you in to the King David and say to him, Did you not my lord, O king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign?¹⁴ And, while you are still speaking there in the presence of the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.¹⁵ So Bath-sheba went in to King David into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shilommite ministered to the king.¹⁶ And Bath-sheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. And the king said to her, What troubles you, Bath-sheba?¹⁷ She said to him, My lord the king, you swore by the LORD your God to your handmaid, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne.¹⁸ And now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, do not know it;¹⁹ And he has sacrificed oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the general of the army; but Nathan the prophet; Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and Solomon your servant he has not invited.²⁰ And you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.²¹ Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers in peace, I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.²² And, while she was still speaking there before the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.²³ And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet has come. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground and did obeisance.²⁴ And Nathan said, My lord, O king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne?²⁵ For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the kings sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him and saying, Long live King Adonijah!²⁶ But me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and your servant Solomon he has not invited.²⁷ Has this thing been done by the order of my lord the king, and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?²⁸ Then King David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the kings presence and stood before him.²⁹ And the king swore to her, and said, As the LORD lives, who has saved my soul out of all distress,³⁰ Even as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne, even so will I do this day.³¹ Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord King David live for ever.

³² And King David said, Call me Zadok the priest; and Nathan the prophet; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.³³ And the king said to them, Arise, take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and take him down to Shilokha;³⁴ And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow with the trumpet, and say, Long live King Solomon.³⁵ Then you shall come after him, and he shall sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; I have appointed him to be king over Israel and over Judah.³⁶ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered and said before the king, Amen; so may the LORD your God do.³⁷ As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.³⁸ So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada and the archers and the slingers went down and caused Solomon to ride upon King Davids mule, and took him to Shilokha.³⁹ Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live King Solomon.⁴⁰ And all the people came up after him, and the people played on tambourines and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth was shaken with their noise.

⁴¹ And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, What is this noise of the city being in an uproar?⁴² And while he was still speaking, behold, Nathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for you are a valiant man, and you bring good tidings.⁴³ And Nathan answered and said to Adonijah, Truly our lord King David has made Solomon king.⁴⁴ And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest; and Nathan the prophet; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and the archers; and the slingers, and they have caused Solomon to ride upon the kings mule;⁴⁵ And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Shilokha; and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the whole city is rejoicing. This is the noise that you have heard.⁴⁶ And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.⁴⁷ And moreover the kings servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, May the LORD your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself upon his bed.⁴⁸ And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given me a son to sit upon my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.⁴⁹ Then all the guests who were invited by Adonijah were afraid, and rose up and went every man his way.⁵⁰ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.⁵¹ And it was told King Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah is afraid because of you, and, lo, has taken refuge on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.⁵² And Solomon said, If he will show himself to be a worthy man, there shall not a hair of his head fall to the earth; but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.⁵³ So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.