Now king David was old and stricken in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he did not get warm.

Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin. And let her stand before the king, and take care of him. And let her lay in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warmth.

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

And the damsel was very fair. And she took care of 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 chariots for him, and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have thou done so? And he was also a very handsome man. And he was born after Absalom.

And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest. And, following Adonijah, they helped 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.

And Adonijah killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel. And he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants.

But he did not call Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother.

Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Have thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord does not know it?

Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou may save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

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

Behold, while thou yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

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

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

And she said to him, My lord, thou swore by LORD thy God to thy handmaid, [saying], Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

And now, behold, Adonijah reigns, and thou, my lord the king, do not know it.

And he has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army, but he has not called Solomon thy servant.

And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

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

And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

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

And Nathan said, My lord, O king, have thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

For he has gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And, behold, they are eating and drinking before him,

But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, he has not called.

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

Then king David answered and said, Call Bathsheba to me. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.

And the king swore, and said, As LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

truly as I swore to thee by LORD, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead. Truly so I will do this day.

Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

And king David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

And the king said to 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.

And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. And blow ye the trumpet, and say, Live, king Solomon.

Then ye shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne, for he shall be king in my stead. And I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen. LORD, the God of my lord the king, say so [too].

As LORD has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

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 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, Live, king Solomon.

And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?

While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, Come in, for thou are a worthy man, and bring good news.

And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Truly 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 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon. And they have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.

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

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

And all the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and every man went his way.

And Adonijah feared because of Solomon. And he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon, for, lo, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.

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

So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to king Solomon. And Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.

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

I am going the way of all the earth. Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man,

and keep the charge of LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, [and] his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou may prosper in all t

That LORD may establish 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 a man on the throne of Is

Moreover thou also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in pea

Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and do not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.

But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at thy table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother.

And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the 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 the Jordan, and I swore to him by LORD, sayin

Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou are a wise man, and thou will know what thou ought to do to him, and thou shall bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.

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

He said moreover, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Say on.

And he said, Thou know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother's, for it was his from LORD.

And now I ask one petition of thee; do not deny me. And she said to him, Say on.

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king (for he will not say no thee), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

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

Bathsheba therefore 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 caused a throne to be set for the king's mother. And she sat on his

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

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

And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why do thou 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

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

Now therefore as 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, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him so that he died.

And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Get thee to Anathoth, to thine own fields, for thou are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou bore the ark of lord LORD before David my father, and be

And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he did not turn after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And it was told king Solomon, Joab has fled to the tent of LORD, and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

And Benaiah came to the tent of LORD, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And he said, No, 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 to him, Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him, that thou may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's house.

And LORD will return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know it, [namely], Abner the son of Ner, captain of the a

So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed forever. But to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace forever from LORD.

Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and killed him. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the army. And the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

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

For on the day thou go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shall 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 of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy 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 was come again.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not adjure thee by LORD, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou go out, and walk abroad anywhere, thou shall surely die? And thou said to

Why then have thou not kept the oath of LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before LORD forever.

So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And he went out, and fell upon him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round ab

And Solomon loved LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father. Only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt-offerings upon that altar.