The First Book of the

KINGS

Chapter 1

David in Old Age

1 Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm.

2 So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her 1attend the king and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.”

3 So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the aShunammite, and brought her to the king.

4 The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not 1cohabit with her.

5 Now aAdonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So bhe prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him.

6 His father had never 1crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and 2ahe was born after Absalom.

7 1He had conferred with aJoab the son of Zeruiah and with bAbiathar the priest; and following cAdonijah they helped him.

8 But aZadok the priest, bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, cNathan the prophet, dShimei, Rei, and ethe mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the 1stone of Zoheleth, which is beside aEn-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants.

10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and aSolomon his brother.

Nathan and Bathsheba

11 Then Nathan spoke to aBathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it?

12 “So now come, please let me agive you counsel and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

13 “Go 1at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “aSurely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

14 “Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”

15 So Bathsheba went in to the king in the bedroom. Now athe king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.

16 Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself 1before the king. And the king said, “What 2do you wish?”

17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘aSurely your son Solomon shall be king after me and he shall sit on my throne.’

18 “Now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know it.

19 “aHe has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

20 “As for you now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

21 “Otherwise it will come about, aas soon as my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered 1offenders.”

22 Behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

23 They told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he prostrated himself 1before the king with his face to the ground.

24 Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?

25 “aFor he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘bLong live King Adonijah!’

26 “aBut 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 my lord the king, and you have not shown to your 1servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

28 Then King David said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.

29 The king vowed and said, “aAs the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

30 surely as aI vowed to you by the Lord the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.”

31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself 1before the king and said, “aMay my lord King David live forever.”

32 Then King David said, “Call to me aZadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence.

33 The king said to them, “Take with you athe servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to bGihon.

34 “Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet aanoint him there as king over Israel, and bblow the trumpet and say, ‘cLong live King Solomon!’

35 “Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! Thus may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say.

37 “aAs the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and bmake his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

Solomon Anointed King

38 So aZadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, bthe Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to cGihon.

39 Zadok the priest then atook the horn of oil from the tent and banointed Solomon. Then they cblew the trumpet, and all the people said, “dLong live King Solomon!”

40 All the people went up after him, and the people 1were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth 2shook at their noise.

41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why 1is the city making such an uproar?”

42 While he was still speaking, behold, aJonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for byou are a valiant man and bring good news.”

43 But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

44 “The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule.

45 “Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, aso that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard.

46 “Besides, aSolomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom.

47 “Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May ayour God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And bthe king bowed himself on the bed.

48 “The king has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who ahas granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’ ”

49 Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified; and they arose and each went on his way.

50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and atook hold of the horns of the altar.

51 Now it was told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

52 Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, anot one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.”

53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself 1before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Chapter 2

David’s Charge to Solomon

1 As David’s 1atime to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

2 “aI am going the way of all the earth. bBe strong, therefore, and 1show yourself a man.

3 “Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, aaccording to what is written in the Law of Moses, that byou may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

4 so that athe Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘bIf your sons are careful of their way, cto walk before Me in 1truth with all their heart and with all their soul, 2dyou shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you also know what Joab the ason of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to bAbner the son of Ner, and to cAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also 1shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt 2about his waist, and on his sandals 3on his feet.

6 “aSo act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to 1Sheol in peace.

7 “But ashow kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and blet them be among those who eat at your table; cfor they 1assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

8 “Behold, athere is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a 1violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when bhe came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

9 “Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, afor you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to 1Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

10 Then aDavid slept with his fathers and was buried in bthe city of David.

11 aThe days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: bseven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.

12 And aSolomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “aDo you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.”

14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”

15 So he said, “You know that athe kingdom was mine and bthat all Israel 1expected me to be king; chowever, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, dfor it was his from the Lord.

16 “Now I am making one request of you; do not 1refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”

17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not 1refuse you, that he may give me aAbishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

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

Adonijah Executed

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he ahad a throne set for the king’s mother, and bshe sat on his right.

20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; ado not 1refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not 2refuse you.”

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

22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? aAsk for him also the kingdom—bfor he is my older brother—even for him, for cAbiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has anot spoken this word against his own 1life.

24 “Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and awho has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.”

25 So King Solomon asent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “aGo to Anathoth to your own field, bfor you 1deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because cyou carried the ark of the Lord 2God before my father David, and because dyou were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.”

27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill athe word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

28 Now the news came to Joab, afor Joab had followed Adonijah, balthough he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and ctook hold of the horns of the altar.

29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon asent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “bGo, fall upon him.”

30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.”

31 The king said to him, “aDo as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, bthat you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause.

32 “aThe Lord will return his blood on his own head, bbecause he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: cAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and dAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

33 “aSo shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his 1descendants forever; but to David and his 1descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.”

34 Then aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house bin the wilderness.

35 aThe king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed bZadok the priest cin the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Now the king sent and called for aShimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place.

37 “For on the day you go out and across over the 1brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; byour blood shall be on your own head.”

38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away ato Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”

40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’

43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I 1have laid on you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “aYou know all the evil which 1you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore bthe Lord shall return your evil on your own head.

45 “But King Solomon shall be blessed, and athe throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”

46 aSo the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

bThus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

Chapter 3

Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

1 Then aSolomon 1formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter band brought her to the city of David cuntil he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and dthe wall around Jerusalem.

2 aThe people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

3 Now aSolomon loved the Lord, bwalking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 aThe king went to bGibeon to sacrifice there, cfor that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5 aIn Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon bin a dream at night; and God said, “cAsk what you wish me to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “aYou have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, baccording as he walked before You in 1truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and cYou have 2reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

7 “Now, O Lord my God, aYou have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet bI am but a little child; cI do not know how to go out or come in.

8 “aYour servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, ba great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.

9 “So agive Your servant 1an understanding heart to judge Your people bto discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this 2great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 1It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have anot asked for yourself 1long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself 2discernment to understand justice,

12 behold, aI have done according to your words. Behold, bI have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.

13 “aI have also given you what you have not asked, both briches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.

14 “aIf you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will bprolong your days.”

15 Then aSolomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and bmade a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.

17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, 1this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

18 “It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.

19 “This woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on it.

20 “So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

21 “When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.”

22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But 1the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “1The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and 1the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ”

24 The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

25 The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for 1ashe was deeply stirred over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!”

27 Then the king said, “Give 1the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.”

28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had 1handed down, they feared the king, for athey saw that the wisdom of God was in him to 2administer justice.

Chapter 4

Solomon’s Officials

1 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel.

2 These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was athe priest;

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were secretaries; aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;

4 and aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and bAbiathar were priests;

5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over athe deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s friend;

6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who 1provided for the king and his household; each man had to 2provide for a month in the year.

8 These are their names: Ben-hur, in the ahill country of Ephraim;

9 Ben-deker in Makaz and aShaalbim and bBeth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;

10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (aSocoh was his and all the land of bHepher);

11 Ben-abinadab, in all 1the aheight of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife);

12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in aTaanach and Megiddo, and all bBeth-shean which is beside cZarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to dAbel-meholah as far as the other side of eJokmeam;

13 Ben-geber, in aRamoth-gilead (bthe towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: cthe region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his);

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in aMahanaim;

15 aAhimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana the son of aHushai, in Asher and 1Bealoth;

17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

18 aShimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;

19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, athe country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon’s Power, Wealth and Wisdom

20 aJudah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the 1seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

21 1aNow Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms bfrom the 2River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; cthey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s 1provision for one day was thirty 2kors of fine flour and sixty 2kors of meal,

23 ten fat oxen, twenty 1pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

24 For he had dominion over everything 1west of the 2River, from Tiphsah even to aGaza, bover all the kings 1west of the 2River; and che had peace on all sides around about him.

25 aSo Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, bfrom Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 aSolomon had 140,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.

27 Those deputies 1provided for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking.

28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and aswift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge.

29 Now aGod gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of 1mind, blike the sand that is on the seashore.

30 Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all athe sons of the east and ball the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For ahe was wiser than all men, than bEthan the Ezrahite, Heman, cCalcol and 1Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his 2fame was known in all the surrounding nations.

32 aHe also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish.

34 1Men acame from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.