So they sought for a fair young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

And the young woman was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

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

But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall 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 has gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

Even as I swore unto you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my place; even so will I certainly do this day.

Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and knelt before to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

Then you shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my place: 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: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.

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 brought him to Gihon.

And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily 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, God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

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

And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to your house.

Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

And keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself:

That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his belt that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Do therefore according to your wisdom, and let not his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at your table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom your brother.

And, behold, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.

Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do unto him; but his gray head bring you down to the grave with blood.

And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Come you peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto you. And she said, Say on.

And he said, Speak, I pray you, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say nay to you,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife.

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

Then she said, I desire one small petition of you; I pray you, say not nay to me. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say nay to you.

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

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

Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

Now therefore, as the LORD lives, 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 unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get you to Anathoth, unto your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you have been afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

And the king said unto him, Do as he has said, and strike him down, and bury him; that you may take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing of it, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.

For it shall be, that on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, you shall know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be upon your own head.

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

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

And Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, 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 unto him, Did I not make you to swear by the LORD, and admonished you, saying, Know for a certain, on the day you go out, and travel anywhere, that you shall surely die? and you said unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

The king said moreover to Shimei, You know all the wickedness which was in your heart, that you did to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return your wickedness upon your own head;

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

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give you.

And Solomon said, You have shown unto your servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

Give therefore your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this your so great a people?

And God said unto him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life; neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies; but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;

Behold, I have done according to your words: lo, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like unto you.

And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days.

And Solomon 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 up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

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

And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead: but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.

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

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.

The son of Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher:

Baana the son of Ahilud; in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokmeam:

The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and bronze bars:

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

For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

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.

Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

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

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke unto David my father, saying, Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, he shall build a house unto my name.

Now therefore command you that they cut me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with your servants: and unto you will I give wages for your servants according to all that you shall appoint: for you know that there is not among us any that has skill to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.

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

And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which you sent to me: and I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

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

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

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

And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by shifts: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the forced labor.

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

And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the men of Gebal: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

And the porch in front of the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof in front of the house.

And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with you, which I spoke unto David your father:

And the inner sanctuary he prepared in the house inside, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

And within the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

The two doors also were of olive wood; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees.

And the two doors were of fir wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its plans. So was he seven years in building it.

Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of cut stones, sawed with saws, inside and out, even from the foundation unto the eaves, and also on the outside toward the great court.

He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in bronze. And he came to king Solomon, and did all his work.

For he cast two pillars of bronze, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each.

And he made two capitals of molten bronze, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits:

And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other capital.

And the capitals upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the rounded projection which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other capital.

And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and its height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

And under the brim of it round about there were knobs compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knobs were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

And it was a handbreadth thick, and the brim thereof was shaped like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.