so his servants suggested to him, "Let's look for a young virgin woman to take care of you, your majesty. She will be of use to you if you have her lie down near you so that your majesty may keep warm."

Now the young woman was very beautiful; she was of use for the king, and she served him, but the king did not {have sexual relations with her}.

His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty ones whom David hath, have not been with Adonijah.

Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know about it?

Come, go to King David and say to him, 'Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, "Surely Solomon your son shall become king after me. And he will sit on my throne"? But why is Adonijah king?'

Lo, thou are yet speaking there with the king, and I come in after thee, and have completed thy words.'

and it hath been, when my lord the king lieth with his fathers, that I have been, I and my son Solomon -- reckoned sinners.'

Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?

"For he went down today and sacrificed oxen, sheep, and fattened animals {in abundance}. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and look, they are eating and drinking before him. They have also said, "Long live King Adonijah!

If this thing has been done by my lord the king, why have you not shown your servants who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

And the king saith to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and ye have caused Solomon my son to ride on mine own mule, and caused him to go down unto Gihon,

and anointed him there hath Zadok the priest -- and Nathan the prophet -- for king over Israel, and ye have blown with a trumpet, and said, Let king Solomon live;

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

And Adonijah heareth, and all those called, who are with him, and they have finished to eat, and Joab heareth the noise of the trumpet, and saith, 'Wherefore is the noise of the city roaring?'

And while the words were on his lips, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, came; and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a man of good faith and the news which you have for us will be good.

And the king hath 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 are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

and also the servants of the king have come into bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God doth make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and his throne greater than thy throne; and the king boweth himself on the bed,

and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn,

so that the Lord may fulfill His promise concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful regarding their way [of life], to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and mind and with all their soul, you shall not fail to have a man (descendant) on the throne of Israel.’

Now you have knowledge of what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, and to the two captains of the army of Israel, Abner, the son of Ner, and Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he put to death, taking payment for the blood of war in time of peace, and making the band of my clothing and the shoes on my feet red with the blood of one put to death without cause.

'And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.

And look, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim; he is the one who cursed me with a sinister curse the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan [on my return], and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

But do not let him be free from punishment, for you are a wise man; and it will be clear to you what you have to do with him; see that his white head goes down to the underworld in blood.

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

He said, "You know that the kingship was mine and that all Israel had set their face toward me as king, but the kingship turned around and became my brother's, for it was from Yahweh for him [to have it].

So now I have just one request of you; don’t turn me down.”

She said to him, “Go on.”

So Bath-sheba went to King Solomon to have talk with him on Adonijah's account. And the king got up to come to her, and went down low to the earth before her; then he took his place on the king's seat and had a seat made ready for the king's mother and she took her place at his right hand.

Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

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

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.

thus shall their blood come back upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed unto times age-abiding, - but, David and his seed, and his house, and his throne, shall have peace, unto times age-abiding, from Yahweh.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

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

And the king said to Shimei, You have knowledge of all the evil which you did to David my father; and now the Lord has sent back your evil on yourself.

Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.

So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king].

Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.

God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice,

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

And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.'

The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!”

But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

And all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God is in his heart, to do judgment.

And Solomon hath twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household -- a month in the year is on each one for sustenance;

And these officers have sustained king Solomon and every one drawing near unto the table of king Solomon, each in his month; they let nothing be lacking.

and there come out of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.

'Thou hast known David my father, that he hath not been able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars that have been round about him, till Jehovah's putting them under the soles of his feet.

But now the LORD has given me rest all around, since I have neither foreign adversaries nor domestic crises.

So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.'

So now, will you have cedar-trees from Lebanon cut down for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you payment for your servants at whatever rate you say; for it is common knowledge that we have no such wood-cutters among us as the men of Zidon.

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

my servants bring down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take them up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.'

The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house round about, that the beams'should not have hold in the walls of the house.

This house that thou art building -- if thou dost walk in My statutes, and My judgments dost do, yea, hast done all My commands, to walk in them, then I have established My word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father,

and have tabernacled in the midst of the sons of Israel, and do not forsake My people Israel.'

And this is the work of the base: they have borders, and the borders are between the joinings;

And four wheels of brass are to the one base, and axles of brass; and its four corners have shoulders -- under the laver are the molten shoulders, beside each addition.

Thus he hath made the ten bases; one casting, one measure, one form, have they all.

And they drew out the staves, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place, in front of the shrine, although they were not seen on the outside, - and they have remained there until this day.

and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men;

I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

But the Lord said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.

And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

You who have kept what You promised to Your servant my father David. You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled Your word with Your hand, as it is this day.

Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep for Your servant my father David that which You promised him when You said, ‘You shall not be without a man (descendant) to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way [of life] to walk before Me [according to my laws] as you have done.’

So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My Name (Presence) shall be there,’ that You may listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

Give ear to the prayers of your servant, and the prayers of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear in heaven your living-place, and hearing, have mercy.

If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

Then give ear in heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again into the land which you gave to their fathers.

When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk (live). And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

whatever prayer or petition
anyone from Your people Israel might have—
each man knowing his own afflictions
and spreading out his hands toward this temple—

Give ear in heaven your living-place, acting in mercy; and give to every man whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of all the children of men:

so they will fear you every day and live on the surface of the land that you have given to our ancestors.

(For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm;) when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:

Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

If they have sinned against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy's land, far or near;

Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

"Show your compassion in the presence of those who have taken them captive, so they may show compassion on them, since they are your people and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from an iron fire furnace.

For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!"

And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

then I have established the throne of thy kingdom over Israel -- to the age, as I spake unto David thy father, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from being on the throne of Israel.

But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

as to this house, that is high, every one passing by it is astonished, and hath hissed, and they have said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.