King David in His Old Age

¹King David was now a very old man, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.

²So his officials said to him, “Your Majesty, let us find a young woman to stay with you and take care of you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.”

³A search was made all over Israel for a beautiful young woman, and in Shunem they found such a woman named Abishag, and brought her to the king.

⁴She was very beautiful, and waited on the king and took care of him, but he did not have intercourse with her.

Adonijah Claims the Throne

^5-6Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith, was the oldest surviving son. He was a very handsome man. David had never reprimanded him about anything, and he was ambitious to be king. He provided for himself chariots, horses, and an escort of fifty men.

⁷He talked with Joab (whose mother was Zeruiah) and with Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to support his cause.

⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's bodyguards were not on Adonijah's side.

⁹One day Adonijah offered a sacrifice of sheep, bulls, and fattened calves at Snake Rock, near the spring of Enrogel. He invited the other sons of King David and the king's officials who were from Judah to come to this sacrificial feast,

¹⁰but he did not invite his half brother Solomon or Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the king's bodyguards.

Solomon Is Made King

¹¹Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and asked her, “Haven't you heard that Haggith's son Adonijah has made himself king? And King David doesn't know anything about it!

¹²If you want to save your life and the life of your son Solomon, I would advise you to

¹³go at once to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn't you solemnly promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king? How is it, then, that Adonijah has become king?’”

¹⁴And Nathan added, “Then, while you are still talking with King David, I will come in and confirm your story.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, was taking care of him.

¹⁶Bathsheba bowed low before the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”

¹⁷She answered, “Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the Lord your God that my son Solomon would be king after you.

¹⁸But Adonijah has already become king, and you don't know anything about it.

¹⁹He has offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves, and he invited your sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of your army to the feast, but he did not invite your son Solomon.

²⁰Your Majesty, all the people of Israel are looking to you to tell them who is to succeed you as king.

²¹If you don't, as soon as you are dead, my son Solomon and I will be treated as traitors.”

²²She was still speaking, when Nathan arrived at the palace.

²³The king was told that the prophet was there, and Nathan went in and bowed low before the king.

²⁴Then he said, “Your Majesty, have you announced that Adonijah would succeed you as king?

²⁵This very day he has gone and offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves. He invited all your sons, Joab the commander of your army, and Abiathar the priest, and right now they are feasting with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

²⁶But he did not invite me, sir, or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon.

²⁷Did Your Majesty approve all this and not even tell your officials who is to succeed you as king?”

²⁸King David said, “Ask Bathsheba to come back in”—and she came and stood before him.

²⁹Then he said to her, “I promise you by the living Lord, who has rescued me from all my troubles,

³⁰that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king.”

³¹Bathsheba bowed low and said, “May my lord the king live forever!”

³²Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in,

³³he said to them, “Take my court officials with you; have my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to Gihon Spring,

³⁴where Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

³⁵Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler of Israel and Judah.”

³⁶“It shall be done,” answered Benaiah, “and may the Lord your God confirm it!

³⁷As the Lord has been with Your Majesty, may he also be with Solomon and make his reign even more prosperous than yours.”

³⁸So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon Spring.

³⁹Zadok took the container of olive oil which he had brought from the Tent of the Lord's presence, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”

⁴⁰Then they all followed him back, shouting for joy and playing flutes, making enough noise to shake the ground.

⁴¹As Adonijah and all his guests were finishing the feast, they heard the noise. And when Joab heard the trumpet, he asked, “What's the meaning of all that noise in the city?”

⁴²Before he finished speaking, Jonathan, the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come on in,” Adonijah said. “You're a good man—you must be bringing good news.”

⁴³“I'm afraid not,” Jonathan answered. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king.

⁴⁴He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards to escort him. They had him ride on the king's mule,

⁴⁵and Zadok and Nathan anointed him as king at Gihon Spring. Then they went into the city, shouting for joy, and the people are now in an uproar. That's the noise you just heard.

⁴⁶Solomon is now the king.

⁴⁷What is more, the court officials went in to pay their respects to His Majesty King David and said, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you, and may Solomon's reign be even more prosperous than yours.’ Then King David bowed in worship on his bed

⁴⁸and prayed, ‘Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has today made one of my descendants succeed me as king, and has let me live to see it!’”

⁴⁹Then Adonijah's guests were afraid, and they all got up and left, each going his own way.

⁵⁰Adonijah, in great fear of Solomon, went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.

⁵¹King Solomon was told that Adonijah was afraid of him and that he was holding on to the corners of the altar and had said, “First, I want King Solomon to swear to me that he will not have me put to death.”

⁵²Solomon replied, “If he is loyal, not even a hair on his head will be touched; but if he is not, he will die.”

⁵³King Solomon then sent for Adonijah and had him brought down from the altar. Adonijah went to the king and bowed low before him, and the king said to him, “You may go home.”

King Solomon Prays for Wisdom

¹Solomon, the son of King David, took firm control of the kingdom of Israel, and the Lord his God blessed him and made him very powerful.

²King Solomon gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand men and of a hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and all the rest of the people,

³commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness.

⁴(The Covenant Box, however, was in Jerusalem, kept in a tent which King David had set up when he brought the Box from Kiriath Jearim.)

⁵The bronze altar which had been made by Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was also in Gibeon in front of the Tent of the Lord's presence. King Solomon and all the people worshiped the Lord there.

⁶In front of the Tent the king worshiped the Lord by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.

⁷That night God appeared to Solomon and asked, “What would you like me to give you?”

⁸Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, and now you have let me succeed him as king.

⁹O Lord God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted,

¹⁰so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

¹¹God replied to Solomon, “You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth or treasure or fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king.

¹²I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again.”

King Solomon's Power and Wealth

¹³So Solomon left the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of the Lord's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

¹⁴He built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem, and the rest he stationed in various other cities.

¹⁵During his reign silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah.

¹⁶The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri and Cilicia,

¹⁷and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.

The Prayer of Someone in Exile

¹O God, declare me innocent, and defend my cause against the ungodly; deliver me from lying and evil people!

²You are my protector; why have you abandoned me? Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?

³Send your light and your truth; may they lead me and bring me back to Zion, your sacred hill, and to your Temple, where you live.

⁴Then I will go to your altar, O God; you are the source of my happiness. I will play my harp and sing praise to you, O God, my God.

⁵Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.