Wherefore his servants said unto him, "Let there be sought for my lord the king a young maiden to wait upon him and to cherish him. And let her lie in his bosom, that my lord the king may get heat."

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

And the damsel was exceeding fair, and cherished the king and ministered to him: But the king knew her not.

But Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." And he gat him a chariot and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.

And his father rebuked him not at any time, nor said so much to him as "Why dost thou so?" And he was thereto a goodly man and his mother bare him next, after Absalom.

Now therefore come, that I may give thee counsel how to save thine own life and the life of thy son Solomon.

And now, my lord king, the eyes of all Israel wait on thee, to tell them who shall sit on the seat of my lord the king after him.

For else when my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be sinners."

For he is gone down this day and hath offered oxen, fatlings and sheep abundantly, and hath called all the king's sons and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest. And see, they eat and drink before him and say, 'God save king Adonijah.'

even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying 'Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my seat for me,' so will I do this day."

And Bathsheba bowed on her face to the earth and did obeisance unto the king, and said, "I pray God my lord king David may live ever."

the king said unto them, "Take with you the servants of your lord, and set Solomon my son upon mine own mule and carry him down to Gihon.

And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there, to be king over Israel. And then blow ye with a trumpet and say, 'God save king Solomon.'

And then come up after him, and let him come and sit upon my seat. For he shall be king in my stead. And him I have commanded to be captain over Israel and Judah."

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, "Amen, and so I pray God that the LORD 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 Pelethites went down, and set Solomon upon king David's mule and led him to Gihon.

And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

And moreover, the king's servants went in to bless our lord king David saying, 'Thy God make the name of Solomon more favoured than thine, and his seat more glorious than thine.' And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

And last of all thus said the king, 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel which hath made one to sit on my seat this day, even mine eyes seeing it.'"

And it was told Solomon, how that Adonijah for fear of king Solomon hath caught handfast by the horns of the altar, saying, "Let king Solomon swear unto me this day, that he will not slay his servant with the sword."

And Solomon said, "If he will be a child of virtue, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth. But and if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die for it."

And thereupon king Solomon sent and fetched him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance unto king Solomon. And Solomon said to him, "Get thee to thine house."

When the days of David were drawn nigh, and he should die; he charged Solomon his son, saying,

And see that thou keep the appointment of the LORD thy God, that thou walk in his ways and keep his commandments, ordinances, laws and testimonies, even as it is written in the law of Moses: that thou mayest understand all that thou oughtest to do, and all that thou shouldest meddle with.

That the LORD may make good his promise which he hath promised me, saying, 'If thy children shall take heed to their ways, that they walk before me in truth, with all their hearts and with all their souls; then thou shalt never be without one sitting on the seat of Israel.'

Moreover thou knowest how Joab the son of Zeruiah hath served me, and what he hath done to the two captains of the hosts of Israel - unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether - how he slew them and shed the blood of war in time of peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Deal with him therefore according to thy wisdom and see that thou bring not his hoar head down to the grave in peace.

And show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among them that eat at thine own table, because they so clave to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother.

And see, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin of Bahurim, which cursed me with a bitter curse what time I went to Mahanaim. But he came against me to Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, "I will not slay thee with the sword."

But pardon thou him not. Thou art a man of wisdom and shalt know what to do to him, see therefore that thou bring his hoar head to the grave with blood."

After that, Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Betokeneth thy coming peace?"

And he said, "It betokeneth peace." Then said he, "I have a matter to show thee." And she said, "Say on."

And he said, "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel put their eyes on me, that I should reign. Howbeit, the kingdom was turned away and given to my brother, for it was appointed him of the LORD: and now I ask a petition of thee, whereof deny me not."

Then he said, "Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king - for he will not say thee nay - that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife."

And thereupon Bathsheba went unto king Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up against her and bowed himself unto her, and sat him down on his seat. And there was a seat set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right side.

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

Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, "God do so to me and so thereto if Adonijah have not spoken this word against himself.

Now therefore as surely as the LORD liveth which hath established me and set me on the seat of David my father, and which hath made me a house as he promised me, Adonijah shall die this day."

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, "Get thee to Anathoth unto thine own fields, for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time kill thee, because thou hast borne the Ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou sufferest with my father in all his afflictions."

And so Solomon put away Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD: to fulfill the words of the LORD which he spake over the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Then tidings came to Joab - for Joab had turned after Adonijah, but not after Absalom - whereupon he fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught handfast on the horns of the altar.

And when Benaiah was come to the tabernacle of the LORD he said unto him, "Thus sayeth the king: 'Come out.'" And he said, "Nay: But I will die even here." And Benaiah brought the king word, saying, "Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me."

And the king said, "Do even as he hath said: smite him and bury him, and take away the blood which Joab shed, causeless, from me and from the house of my father.

And the LORD bring his blood upon his own head, for he smote two men righteouser and better than he, and slew them with the sword; my father unwitting: even Abner the son of Ner captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether captain of the host of Judah.

Then the king sent and called Shimei, and said to him, "Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there and see that thou go not once thence any whither.

For be thou sure of it: the day thou goest out and passest over the river of Kidron, thou shalt die for it, and thy blood shall be on thine own head."

And Shimei said unto the king, "It is well said: as my lord the king hath said, so will his servant do." And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many a day.

And it chanced, at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And one told Shimei, saying, "See, thy servants be in Gath."

And Shimei stood up and saddled his ass and gat him to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants, and came and brought them again from Gath.

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

And the king sent and called Shimei and said unto him, "Did I not adjure thee by the LORD, and testified unto thee saying, 'Be sure whensoever thou goest out and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt die for it?' And thou answeredst me, 'It is good tidings that I have heard.'

And then the king said to Shimei, "Thou rememberest all the wickedness which thine heart knoweth that thou didst to David my father. The LORD therefore render again thy wickedness upon thine own head:

And the king went to Gibeon, to offer there: for that was a great offering place. And there Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar.

And in Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, "Ask what I shall give thee."

And Solomon said, "Thou hast showed unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy; according as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and plainness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this great mercy, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his seat: as it is come to pass this day.

And now LORD, my God, it is thou that hast made thy servant king instead of David my father. And I am a young lad and know not how to order myself.

Give therefore unto thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, and to discern between good, and bad. For who is able to judge this, thy so weighty a people?"

Wherefore God said unto him, "Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked long life, neither hast asked riches, nor the lives of thine enemies, but hast asked the discretion to understand equity:

see, I have done according to thy petition. And behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep mine ordinances and commandments as David thy father did walk, I will lengthen thy days also."

When Solomon awoke, this was his dream. And he came to Jerusalem and presented himself before the Ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

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

And the third day after that I was delivered, she was delivered also: we two being together and no stranger with us in the house save we two alone.

And when I rose up in the morning to give my child suck: see, it was dead. But when I had looked more diligently upon it in the morning: Behold, it was not my son which I did bear."

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

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

the son of Hesed in Arubboth, and to him pertained Socoh and all the land of Hepher;

Baanah the son of Ahilud had Taanach, Megiddo, and all Bet-Shean which is by Zarethan beneath Jezreel, and from Bet-Shean to Abelmeholah and unto beyond Jokmeam;

Ahimaaz had Naphtali, and he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife;

And Solomon's food was in one day thirty quarters of manchet flour and three score quarters of meal;

For he ruled in all the regions on the other side Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and also over all the kings on the other side the said Euphrates. And he had peace with all his servants on every side.

And Judah and Israel dwelt without fear, every man under his vine and under his fig tree from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

And the foresaid general receivers made purveyance for king Solomon and for all that came to king Solomon's table, every man his month, so that there lacked nothing.

And there came of all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom.

And Solomon sent again to Hiram, saying,

And therefore I am disposed to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, as he promised David my father, saying, 'Thy son which I will put upon thy seat for thee, he shall build a house unto my name.'

Now then, command that they hew me Cedar trees in Lebanon. And let my servants be with thine, and I will give the hire of thy servants in all such things as thou shalt appoint, for thou knowest that there are not among us that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians."

When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, "Blessed be the LORD this day which hath set David a wise son over this mighty people."

And Hiram sent again to Solomon, saying, "I have accepted the request which thou sentest to me for, and will satisfy all thy lust, concerning timber of Cedar trees and fir.

My servants shall bring them from Lebanon to the sea. And I will convey them by ship unto the place that thou shalt send me word, and will cause them to be discharged there, that thou mayest receive them. And thou shalt do me this pleasure again, to minister food for mine house."

And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand quarters of wheat to feed his household withal, and twenty butts of pure oil. And so much gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

which he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by course, so that they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the tribute.

besides the lords he had to oversee the work, in number three thousand and three hundred, which ruled the people that wrought in the work.

And at the commandment of the king, they brought great stones, and that free stones, and hewed thereto, to lay in the foundation of the house.

And Solomon's masons and the masons of Hiram did hew them, with them of the borders. And so they prepared both in timber and stone to build the house.

And it came to pass, the four hundred and fourscore year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, and the fourth year of the reign of Solomon upon Israel, and the second month called Ziv, that he began to build the temple unto the LORD.

And he made unto the house, windows to open and shut.

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

"Concerning the house which thou art in building: if thou wilt walk in mine ordinances and execute my laws and keep all my commandments, to walk in them; then will I make good unto thee my promises which I promised David thy father.

And he sealed twenty cubits in the end of the temple, both floor and walls, with Cedar, and dressed it within to be the quyre and place most holy.

And the first house, that is to say, the body of the temple, was forty cubits long.

And the quyre that was within the temple, he prepared to set there the Ark of the covenant of the LORD.

And within the quyre he made two Cherubims of olive tree, ten cubits high apiece,

And he put the Cherubs in the middle of the inner house. And the Cherubs stretched their wings, so that the one wing of the one touched the one wall, and the one wing of the other touched the other wall. And the other two wings of them touched one another in the midst of the house.

And in the entering of the quyre he made two doors of olive tree, with the upper and two side posts five square.

And the two doors of olive tree he graved with graving of Cherubs and Palm trees and graved flowers, and covered them with gold, and laid gold over the Cherubs and also the Palm trees.

and two doors of fir tree, and either door with two folding leaves

Then he made a porch to sit and judge in, sealed with Cedar throughout all the pavements. And his own house where he kept residence, in another court without that porch, was of the same work.

And then Solomon made a house for Pharaoh's daughter which he had taken to wife, like unto that porch.

And the foundation was of rich stones and the mighty great stones of ten cubits and of eight. And above were rich stones hewed according to the same size, and also with Cedar.