When king David was waxen old and stricken in years, though they covered him with clothes, yet he caught no heat.

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.

And he communed with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they helped Adonijah.

But Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the mighty men and Solomon his brother he bade not.

Whereupon Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Hast thou not heard how that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, unwitting unto our master David?

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

Go and get thee unto king David, and say unto him, 'Didst thou not, my lord king, sware unto thy handmaid saying: Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my seat? Why, then, is Adonijah made king?'

And she answered and said, "My lord, thou hast sworn by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, 'Solomon thy son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my seat.'

And he hath offered oxen, fatlings and sheep abundantly, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the Host. But Solomon thy servant hath he not bidden.

And they told the king, saying, "Here cometh Nathan the prophet." And when he was come before the king, he made obeisance unto the king upon his face unto the ground,

and said, "My lord king, hast thou said, 'Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my seat?'

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.'

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

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 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 as the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so I pray God he may be with Solomon, and that he make his seat greater than the seat of my lord king David."

And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him, heard it even as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, "How happeneth it there is such a noise in the city?"

And as he yet spake, see, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, "Come, for thou art a lusty blood and bringest good tidings."

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,

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.

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."

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 king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, "Why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? But rather ask for him the kingdom, seeing he is mine elder brother! Even for him ask it; and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah."

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 king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and smote him that he died.

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 it was told king Solomon how that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and stood by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada saying, "Go and smite him."

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.

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

And the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada: which went out and smote him that he died. And so was the kingdom settled in the hand of Solomon.

Then Solomon drew 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 the LORD and the walls of Jerusalem round about.

And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the ordinances of David his father, save only that he sacrificed and offered cense upon altars in hills.

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.

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.

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

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 he excelled all men in wisdom, both Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. And his name spread abroad among all nations on every side.

And he disputed of trees, even from the Cedar tree that groweth in Lebanon unto the Hyssop that springeth out of the wall. And he disputed of beasts, fowls, worms, and fishes.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father. And thereto Hiram was ever a lover of David's.

"Thou knowest of David my father, how he could not build a house unto the name of the LORD his God for war which he had on every side, until the LORD had put them under his foot.

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 so Hiram gave Solomon Cedar trees and fir trees, as much as he desired.

And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon and they were confedered together.

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 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 the house which Solomon built for the LORD was three score cubits long and twenty broad and thirty cubits high.

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

And under the walls of the house he made galleries round about, both round about the temple and also the quyre. And so made sides round about.

And the nethermost gallery was five cubits broad and the middle gallery six. And the third, seven cubits broad. For he made the walls without, whereon the beams lay, ever thinner and thinner, so that they were not fastened in the walls of the house.

And so he built the house and finished it, and roofed it with beams of Cedar timber made hollow and joined together.

And then he built chambers over all the temple of five cubits height, and coupled the house together with beams of Cedar.

and sealed the walls of the house within, with ribs of Cedar tree: even from the pavement unto the roof did he seal it within, and boarded the floor of the house with planks of fir.

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

And the quyre was twenty cubits long, and twenty in breadth and twenty in height. And he sealed it with pure gold, and boarded the altar with Cedar.

And Solomon sealed the house within also with pure gold. And he made golden bars run along the quyre, which he had covered with gold.

And the whole house he overlaid with gold until he had ended it. And the altar that was in the quyre he overlaid with gold also.

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

And the other Cherub was ten cubits high also: so that both the Cherubs were of one measure and one size.

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 he overlaid the Cherubs with gold.

And all the walls of the house round about, he garnished with work of Cherubs and palm trees and graven flowers, both within in the quyre and without in the temple.

And the floor of the house he covered with gold both within in the quyre and also without in the temple.

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 in like manner, unto the door of the temple, he made posts of olive tree four square,

And then he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone and one row of Cedar wood.

and in the eleventh year in the month Bul which is the eighth month, it was full finished in all that pertained thereto, and fashioned as it should be in all points. And so was he seven years in building of it.

And he built the house of the wood of Lebanon, a hundred cubits long and fifty broad, and thirty high, four square with rows of Cedar pillars and Cedar beams along upon the pillars.

And the roof was Cedar above on high upon the beams that lay a high on the pillars, which pillars were forty and five in number, fifteen on a row,

And he made a porch of pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits broad: and yet a porch before that with pillars, and a thick pillar before that.

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.

a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, his father being of Tyre. Which Hiram was a craftsman in brass, and full of wisdom, understanding and cunning to work all manner of work in brass. And he came to king Solomon and wrought all his work.

He cast two pillars of brass of eighteen cubits apiece high, and a string of twelve cubits might compass either of them about.

And he made two head pieces of molten brass to set on the tops of the pillars, of five cubits long apiece,

And he made the pillars, and for either of the head pieces a garland with two rows of pomegranates to cover them withal.

And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple, and when he had set up the right pillar, he called the name thereon Jachin, and when he had set up the left pillar, he called the name thereof Boaz.

Then he cast a sea of brass, ten cubits wide from brim to brim and round in compass, and five cubits high. And a string of thirty cubits might compass it about,

And it stood on twelve oxen: of which three looked North, three West, three South, and three East, and the sea on high upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

And he made ten bottoms of brass, four cubits long and four cubits broad apiece, and three high.

And the stalk of the laver was in the middle of the bottom one cubit high, and a cubit and a half round, and it had knops thereon in the bare places which were foursquare not round.

And under the stalk of the laver in the midst of the bottom was there a round foot of half a cubit high. And thereon, plain places and ledges of the self.

And he graved in the plain and also on the ledges, Cherubs, lions and palm trees, everywhere round about.

And on this manner he made the ten bottoms cast work: all of one measure and one size.