And his servants said to him, Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warm.

And they sought for a fair damsel throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

And the damsel was very fair; and cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.

And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know it?

Go and get thee in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to thy handmaid saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign?

And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king.

And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

And she said to him, My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.

Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.

And they told the king saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

For he is gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah!

Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewn to thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

even as I swore to thee by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

And Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon;

And ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit on my throne; for he shall reign in my stead, and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, Amen: Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, say so too.

And 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 brought him to Gihon.

While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news.

And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Indeed, our lord king David has made Solomon king.

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;

And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God make the name of Solomon more excellent than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne! And the king bowed himself on the bed.

And also thus said the king: Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.

And it was told Solomon saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for behold, he has caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.

And Solomon said, If he be a worthy man, there shall not one of his hairs fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die.

And king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.

And the days of David were at hand that he should die; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying,

and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;

that Jehovah may confirm his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man upon the throne of Israel.

And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and upon his sandals that were on his feet.

And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.

But shew kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came up to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

And behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

And he said, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Speak.

And now I ask one petition of thee; refuse me not. And she said to him, Speak.

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king for he will not refuse thee that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.

And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee to the king.

And Bathsheba went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne; and he caused a throne to be set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand.

Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; refuse me not. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse thee.

And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother as wife.

And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, God do so to me, and more also, Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life!

And now as Jehovah liveth, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Go to Anathoth, to thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death; but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of Adonai Jehovah before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

And Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah, to fulfil the word of Jehovah, which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

And the report came to Joab (for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom); and Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah, and caught hold of the horns of the altar.

And it was told king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Jehovah; and behold, he is by the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him.

And Benaiah came to the tent of Jehovah and said to him, Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said, No; for I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

And the king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him; and take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me and from the house of my father.

And Jehovah shall requite the blood which he shed upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, without my father David's knowledge: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him, and put him to death; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and abide there, and go not forth thence anywhere.

And it shall be that on the day thou goest forth, and passest over the torrent of Kidron, ... know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two servants of Shimei's ran away to Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath.

Then Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by Jehovah, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest forth, and walkest abroad anywhere, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good.

And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David my father; and Jehovah returns thy wickedness upon thine own head;

Only, the people sacrificed on the high places; for there was no house built to the name of Jehovah, until those days.

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar.

In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

And Solomon said, Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness, that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne, as it is this day.

And now, Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child: I know not to go out and to come in.

Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy numerous people?

And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment;

behold, I have done according to thy word: behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there hath been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will prolong thy days.

And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two were in the house.

And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.

And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

Then spoke the woman whose was the living child to the king, for her bowels yearned over her son, and she said, Ah, my lord! give her the living child, and in no wise put it to death. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine; divide it.

And the king answered and said, Give this one the living child, and in no wise put it to death: she is its mother.

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel; and they provided food for the king and his household: each man his month in the year had to make provision.

Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, as far as beyond Jokneam.

And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal,

And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.

And those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they let nothing be wanting.

And the barley, and the straw for the horses and coursers, they brought to the place where the superintendents were, every man according to his charge.

And he spoke of the trees, from the cedar-tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of cattle, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram always loved David.

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

And behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to David my father saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy stead, he shall build a house unto my name.

And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians.

And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.

And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the things which thou sentest to me for: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of cypress.

My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will convey them by sea in rafts to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them. And thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household.

So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees according to all his desire.

And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his household, and twenty measures of beaten oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league.

And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy.

And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house.