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1 Kings 1 :1 1:1 ¹Now when King ²David was old and advanced in ³years, they covered him with clothing, but he could not get warm.

1 Kings 1 :2 1:2 So his servants said to him, Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and serve him; and let her lie in your bosom so that my lord the king may get warm.

1 Kings 1 :3 1:3 Thus they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

1 Kings 1 :4 1:4 And the young woman was very beautiful, and she served the king and ministered to him; but the king did not know her.

1 Kings 1 :5 1:5 Then ^aAdonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king. And he prepared a chariot and horsemen for himself and fifty men to run before him.

1 Kings 1 :6 1:6 And his father had never displeased him by saying, Why have you done thus and thus? And he also was very handsome, and his mother bore him after Absalom.

1 Kings 1 :7 1:7 And he conferred with ^1aJoab the son of Zeruiah and with ^bAbiathar the priest; and following Adonijah, they helped him.

1 Kings 1 :8 1:8 But ^aZadok the priest and ^bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada and ^cNathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

1 Kings 1 :9 1:9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he called all his brothers, the sons of the king, and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king.

1 Kings 1 :10 1:10 But he did not call Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the mighty men and ^aSolomon his brother.

1 Kings 1 :11 1:11 Then Nathan spoke to Bath-sheba, Solomon’s mother, saying, Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns and our lord David does not know it?

1 Kings 1 :12 1:12 Now therefore come and let me give you counsel to save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

1 Kings 1 :13 1:13 Go in at once to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord the king, swear to your female servant, saying, Solomon your son shall ^areign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Then why does Adonijah reign?

1 Kings 1 :14 1:14 Just when you are there and still speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.

1 Kings 1 :15 1:15 So Bath-sheba went in to the king in the chamber. And the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.

1 Kings 1 :16 1:16 And Bath-sheba bowed and paid homage to the king. And the king said, What do you wish?

1 Kings 1 :17 1:17 And she said to him, My lord, you swore by Jehovah your God to your female servant, saying, ^aSolomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

1 Kings 1 :18 1:18 But now, at this moment Adonijah reigns, and ¹you, my lord the king, know nothing of it.

1 Kings 1 :19 1:19 And he has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep abundantly and has called for all the king’s sons and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab the captain of the army, but he has not called for Solomon your servant.

1 Kings 1 :20 1:20 And you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, that you would declare to them who will sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him.

1 Kings 1 :21 1:21 Otherwise when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.

1 Kings 1 :22 1:22 And just while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

1 Kings 1 :23 1:23 And they told the king, saying, Nathan the prophet is here. And he came in before the king and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.

1 Kings 1 :24 1:24 And Nathan said, O my lord the king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

1 Kings 1 :25 1:25 For he has gone down today and sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep abundantly and has called for all the king’s sons and for the captains of the army and for Abiathar the priest; and now they are eating and drinking before him, and they say, May King Adonijah live!

1 Kings 1 :26 1:26 But he has not called for me, me your servant, and for Zadok the priest and for Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and for Solomon your servant.

1 Kings 1 :27 1:27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not made known to your servants who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him?

1 Kings 1 :28 1:28 Then King David answered and said, Call Bath-sheba to me. And she came in before the king and stood before the king.

1 Kings 1 :29 1:29 And the king swore and said, As Jehovah lives, who has ^aredeemed my soul out of all adversity,

1 Kings 1 :30 1:30 Indeed as I have sworn to you by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Solomon your son shall ^areign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my place; so indeed will I do this day.

1 Kings 1 :31 1:31 Then Bath-sheba bowed her face to the ground and paid homage to the king, and she said, May my lord King David live forever.

1 Kings 1 :32 1:32 And King David said, Call Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada to me. And they came in before the king.

1 Kings 1 :33 1:33 And the king said to them, Take the servants of your lord with you, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

1 Kings 1 :34 1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^aanoint him there as king over Israel; and blow the trumpet and say, May King Solomon live!

1 Kings 1 :35 1:35 Then come up after him; and he shall come and sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my place; for I have appointed him as ^aruler over Israel and over Judah.

1 Kings 1 :36 1:36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, ^aAmen! May Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, so ordain!

1 Kings 1 :37 1:37 As Jehovah ^ahas been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon; and may He make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.

1 Kings 1 :38 1:38 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule, and they brought him to Gihon.

1 Kings 1 :39 1:39 And Zadok the priest took the horn of ^aoil from the Tent of Jehovah and ^banointed Solomon; and they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, May King Solomon live!

1 Kings 1 :40 1:40 And all the people went up after him; and the people were playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, and the land shook with the sound of them.

1 Kings 1 :41 1:41 And Adonijah and all the invited guests with him heard it as they finished eating. And Joab heard the sound of the trumpet and said, Why is there the sound of the city in an uproar?

1 Kings 1 :42 1:42 Just as he was still speaking, ^aJonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a worthy man and bring good news.

1 Kings 1 :43 1:43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Alas! Our lord King David has made Solomon king!

1 Kings 1 :44 1:44 And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule.

1 Kings 1 :45 1:45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him as king in Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the sound that you heard.

1 Kings 1 :46 1:46 And Solomon is also sitting upon the ^athrone of the kingdom.

1 Kings 1 :47 1:47 Moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne; and the king ^abowed himself upon his bed.

1 Kings 1 :48 1:48 And thus also did the king say, ^aBlessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who has given me today one to sit on my throne while my eyes may see it.

1 Kings 1 :49 1:49 And all the invited guests who were with Adonijah became frightened and rose up; and they went away, each on his own way.

1 Kings 1 :50 1:50 And Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon; and he rose up and went away, and he took hold of the ^ahorns of the altar.

1 Kings 1 :51 1:51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Now Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for he has just now taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.

1 Kings 1 :52 1:52 And Solomon said, If he is a worthy man, not a ^ahair of his will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.

1 Kings 1 :53 1:53 So King Solomon sent men and had him brought down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, Go to your house.