DAVID’S LAST DAYS

1 Now King David was old and advanced in age.a Although they covered him with bedclothes, he could not get warm.b 2 So his servants said to him, “Let usA search for a young virgin for my lord the king.c She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm.” 3 They searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel; they found Abishagd the Shunammite* e and brought her to the king. 4 The girl was of unsurpassed beauty,f and she became the king’s caregiver. She attended to him, but he was not intimate withC her.

ADONIJAH’S BID FOR POWER

5 Adonijah son of Haggithg kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and fifty men to run ahead of him.D,h 6 But his father had never once infuriatedi him by asking, “Why did you do that?”j In addition, he was quite handsomek and was born after Absalom.l 7 He conspiredE with Joab son of Zeruiahm and with the priest Abiathar.n They supportedo Adonijah, 8 but the priest Zadok,p Benaiah son of Jehoiada,q the prophet Nathan,r Shimei,s Rei, and David’s royal guardF,t did not side with Adonijah.

9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, goats, cattle, and fattened cattle near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel.u He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king,v 10 but he did not invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the royal guard, or his brother Solomon.w

NATHAN’S AND BATHSHEBA’S APPEALS

11 Then Nathanx said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother,y “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become kingz and our lord David does not know it?aa 12 Now please come and let me advise you.ab Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.ac 13 Go, approach King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your servant: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne?ad So why has Adonijah become king?’ 14 At that moment, while you are still there speaking with the king, I’ll come in after you and confirm your words.”ae

15 So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was attending to him.af 16 Bathsheba knelt low and paid homage to the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”

17 She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.’ 18 Now look, Adonijah has become king. And,A my lord the king, you didn’t know it. 19 He has lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite your servant Solomon. 20 Now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his ancestors,ag I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals.”ah

22 At that moment, while she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan arrived,ai 23 and it was announced to the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” He came into the king’s presence and paid homage to him with his face to the ground.

24 “My lord the king,” Nathan said, “did you say, ‘Adonijah is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne’? 25 For today he went down and lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and the priest Abiathar. And look! They’re eating and drinking in his presence, and they’re saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he did not invite me—me, your servant—or the priest Zadok or Benaiah son of Jehoiada or your servant Solomon. 27 I’m certain my lord the king would not have let this happen without letting your servantB know who will sit on my lord the king’s throne after him.”

SOLOMON CONFIRMED KING

28 King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. 29 The king swore an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty,a 30 just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place,b that is exactly what I will do this very day.”c

31 Bathsheba knelt low with her face to the ground, paying homage to the king,d and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”e

32 King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.”f So they came into the king’s presence. 33 The king said to them, “Take my servantsg with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule,h and take him down to Gihon.i 34 There, the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him as king over Israel.j You are to blow the trumpetk and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’l 35 You are to come up after him, and he is to come in and sit on my throne. He is the one who is to become king in my place; he is the one I have commanded to be rulerm over Israel and Judah.”n

36 “Amen,” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied to the king. “May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so affirm it.o 37 Just as the Lord was with my lord the king,p so may heC be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”q

38 Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethitesr went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon.s Then they blew the trumpet,t and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”u 40 All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joyv that the earth split open from the sound.A

ADONIJAH HEARS OF SOLOMON’S CORONATION

41 Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with himw heard the noise as they finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the trumpet and said, “Why is the town in such an uproar?”x 42 He was still speaking when Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest,y suddenly arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are an important man, and you must be bringing good news.”z

43 “Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 And with Solomon, the king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have had him ride on the king’s mule. 45 The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king in Gihon.aa They have gone up from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that’s the noise you heard. 46 Solomon has even taken his seat on the royal throne.ab

47 “The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.’ac Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.ad 48 And the king went on to say this: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! Today he has provided one to sit on my throne,ae and I am a witness.’ ”B

49 Then all of Adonijah’s guests got up trembling and went their separate ways. 50 Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.af

51 It was reported to Solomon, “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon firstC swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’ ”

52 Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground,ag but if evil is found in him, he dies.”ah 53 So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”

DAVID’S DYING INSTRUCTIONS TO SOLOMON

2 As the time approached for David to die,ai he ordered his son Solomon, 2 “As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth.a Be strong and be a man,b 3 and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you doc and wherever you turn, 4 and so that the Lord will fulfill his promise that he made to me: ‘If your sons take care to walk faithfully before me with all their heart and all their soul,d you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’e

5 “You also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to mef and what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s army, Abner son of Nerg and Amasa son of Jether.h He murdered them in a time of peace to avenge blood shed in war. He spilled that blood on his own waistband and on the sandals of his feet.* 6 Act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head descend to Sheol in peace.

7 “Show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your tablei because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.j

8 “Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim who is with you. He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim.k But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will never kill you with the sword.’l 9 So don’t let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”

10 Then David rested with his ancestorsm and was buried in the city of David.n 11 The length of time David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.o 12 Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingship was firmly established.p

ADONIJAH’S FOOLISH REQUEST

13 Now Adonijah son of Haggithq came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come peacefully?”

“Peacefully,” he replied,r 14 and then asked, “May I talk with you?”B

“Go ahead,” she answered.

15 “You know the kingship was mine,”s he said. “All Israel expected me to be king, but then the kingship was turned over to my brother,t for the Lord gave it to him.u 16 So now I have just one request of you; don’t turn me down.”C

She said to him, “Go on.”

17 He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammitev as a wife.”

18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, sat down on his throne, and had a throne placed for the king’s mother.w So she sat down at his right hand.x

20 Then she said, “I have just one small request of you. Don’t turn me down.”

“Go ahead and ask, mother,” the king replied, “for I won’t turn you down.”

21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.”

22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my elder brother,y you might as well ask the kingship for him,z for the priest Abiathar, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.”A,aa 23 Then King Solomon took an oath by the Lord: “May God punish me and do so severelyab if Adonijah has not made this request at the cost of his life. 24 And now, as the Lord lives—the one who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as he promisedac—I swear Adonijah will be put to death today!” 25 Then King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada,ad who struck down Adonijah, and he died.

ABIATHAR’S BANISHMENT

26 The king said to the priest Abiathar,ae “Go to your fields in Anathoth.af Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death today, since you carried the ark of the Lord God in the presence of my father Davidag and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”ah 27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from being the Lord’s priest, and it fulfilled the Lord’s prophecy he had spoken at Shiloh against Eli’s family.ai

JOAB’S EXECUTION

28 The news reached Joab. Since he had supported Adonijahaj but not Absalom,ak Joab fled to the Lord’s tabernacle and took hold of the horns of the altar.a

29 It was reported to King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the Lord’s tabernacle and is now beside the altar.”

Then Solomon sentB Benaiah son of Jehoiadab and told him, “Go and strike him down!”c

30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle and said to Joab, “This is what the king says: ‘Come out!’ ”d

But Joab said, “No, for I will die here.”

So Benaiah took a message back to the king, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.”

31 The king said to him, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him in order to remove from me and from my father’s family the blood that Joab shed without just cause.e 32 The Lord will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David’s knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abnerf son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasag son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33 The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendantsC forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from the Lord forever.”h

34 Benaiah son of Jehoiadai went up, struck down Joab, and put him to death. He was buried at his house in the wilderness.j 35 Then the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army,k and he appointed the priest Zadok in Abiathar’s place.

SHIMEI’S BANISHMENT AND EXECUTION

36 Then the king summoned Shimeil and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but don’t leave there and go anywhere else. 37 On the day you do leave and cross the Kidron Valley,m know for sure that you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head.”n

38 Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.

39 But then, at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achisho son of Maacah, king of Gath.p Shimei was informed, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.” 40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath to search for his slaves. He went and brought them back from Gath.

41 It was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42 So the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Didn’t I make you swear by the Lord and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die’? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will obey.’ 43 So why have you not kept the Lord’s oath and the command that I gave you?” 44 The king also said, “You yourself know all the evil that you did to my father David.q Therefore, the Lord has brought back your evil on your head, 45 but King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain established before the Lord forever.”r

46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in Solomon’s hand.s

THE LORD APPEARS TO SOLOMON

3 Solomon made an allianceA with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter.t Solomon brought her to the city of Davidu until he finished building his palace,v the Lord’s temple,w and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.x 2 However, the people were sacrificing on the high places,y because until that time a temple for the Lord’s namez had not been built. 3 Solomon loved the Lordaa by walking in the statutes of his father David,ab but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeonac to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.ad 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomonae in a dream at night.af God said, “Ask.ag What should I give you?”

6 And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.B You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne,ah as it is today.ai

7 “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place.aj Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.C,a 8 Your servant is among your people you have chosen,b a people too many to be numbered or counted.c 9 So give your servant a receptive heart to judged your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”e

10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. 11 So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long lifeA or riches for yourself,f or the deathB of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice,g 12 I will therefore do what you have asked.h I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.i 13 In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor,j so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.k 14 If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”l

15 Then Solomon woke upm and realized it had been a dream.n He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant,o and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.p Then he held a feastq for all his servants.

SOLOMON’S WISDOM

16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.r 17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one elseC was with us in the house; just the two of us were there. 19 During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”

22 “No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.”

The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.

23 The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’ ” 24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king. 25 And the king said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

26 The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassionD,s for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!”

But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

27 The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdomt was in him to carry out justice.

SOLOMON’S OFFICIALS

4 King Solomon reigned over all Israel,u 2 and these were his officials:v

Azariah son of Zadok, priest;

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, secretaries;

Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, court historian;

4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army;

Zadok and Abiathar, priests;

5 Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the deputies;

Zabud son of Nathan, a priest and adviser to the king;

6 Ahishar, in charge of the palace;

and Adoniram son of Abda, in charge of forced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.w 8 These were their names:

Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (he had Socoh and the whole land of Hepher);

11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (Taphath daughter of Solomon was his wife);

12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also had married a daughter of Solomon—Basemath);

16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;

18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan.

There was one deputy in the land of Judah.A

SOLOMON’S PROVISIONS

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea;a they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. 21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.b They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.c

22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were 180 bushelsB of fine flour and 360 bushelsC of meal, 23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,D,d 24 for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders. 25 Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba,e each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.f 26 Solomon had forty thousand* stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.g 27 Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing. 28 Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horsesh to the required place according to his assignment.B

SOLOMON’S WISDOM AND LITERARY GIFTS

29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understandingi as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,j greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.k 31 He was wiser than anyonel—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,m and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol.n His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.o

32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs,p and his songs numbered 1,005.q 33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.r

HIRAM’S BUILDING MATERIALS

5 King Hiram of Tyres sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place,t for Hiram had always been friends with David.u

2 Solomon sent this message to Hiram: 3 “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the Lord his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.v 4 The Lord my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or misfortune.w 5 So I plan to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God,x according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.’y

6 “Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”z

7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today!aa He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!” 8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”a

10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 11 and Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred twenty thousand bushelsA of wheat as food for his household and one hundred twenty thousand gallonsB of oil from crushed olives.b Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.

12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him.c There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.d

SOLOMON’S WORK FORCE

13 Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;e the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. 14 He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,f 16 not including his thirty-three hundred* deputiesg in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work. 17 The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.h 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders,i along with the Gebalites,j quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.