And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying, Why doest thou so? and he was also a very comely man; and his mother bore him after Absalom.

And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know it?

And now, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

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

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

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

And she said to him, My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.

And now behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not.

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

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

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

While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news.

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;

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.'

And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and upon his sandals that were on his feet.

And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.

But, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, thou wilt deal in lovingkindness, and they will be among them who eat at thy table, - for, so, drew they near unto me, when I fled from Absolom thy brother.

And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which 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 sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

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

And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah.

And now I ask one asking from thee, thou wilt not turn away my face. And she will say to him, Speak

And she will say, One small asking I ask from thee; thou wilt not turn away my face. And the king will say to her, Ask, my mother, for I will not turn away thy face.

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

And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Go to Anathoth, to thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death; but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of Adonai Jehovah before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

And the king sent, and called for Shimei, and said to him - Build thee a house, in Jerusalem, so shalt thou dwell there, - and shalt not go forth from thence, hither or thither;

And it shall be that on the day thou goest forth, and passest over the torrent of Kidron, ... know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by Jehovah, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest forth, and walkest abroad anywhere, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good.

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

And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David my father; and Jehovah returns thy wickedness upon thine own head;

And Solomon said, Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness, that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne, as it is this day.

And now, Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child: I know not to go out and to come in.

And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

Wilt thou, then, give unto thy servant, a heart that hearkeneth, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad, - for who is able to judge this thine honoured people?

And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand judgment;

Behold, I did according to thy word, I gave to thee a wise and understanding heart; that there was not as thou before thee, and after thee there shall not arise like thee.

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

And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will prolong thy days.

And the other woman said, "It is not so: But the living is my son, and the dead thine." And she said again, "Thou sayest untrue, for the dead is thy son, and the living mine." And thus they pleaded before the king.

Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.

And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians.

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

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

As to this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and practise mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word as to thee which I spoke unto David thy father;

Then said Yahweh unto David my father, Because it was near thy heart to build a house for my Name, thou didst well that it was near thy heart;

Only, thou thyself, must not build the house, - but, thine own son who hath proceeded out of thy loins, he, shall build the house, for my Name.

who hast kept for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, - in that thou didst promise with thy mouth, and, with thy hand, hast fulfilled, as it is this day.

Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep thou for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man from before me, to sit upon the throne of Israel, - if only, thy sons take heed to their way, by walking before me, as thou hast walked before me.

Now, therefore, O God of Israel, - verified be thy word, I pray thee, which thou didst speak to thy servant, David my father.

Yet wilt thou turn unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Yahweh my God, - to hearken unto the cry, and unto the prayer, wherewith thy servant doth pray before thee to-day;

that thine eye may be opened toward this house, night and day, toward the place of which thou hast said, My Name shall be, there; hearkening unto the prayer which thy servant shall offer toward this place.

Wilt, thou, therefore, hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whensoever they shall pray toward this place, - yea wilt, thou thyself, hear, in thine own dwelling-place, in the heavens, and, when thou hearest, then wilt thou forgive?

then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and act, and judge thy servants, condemning the lawless, by setting his way upon his own head, - and justifying the righteous, by giving to him, according to his righteousness?

then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back unto the soil, which thou gavest unto their fathers?

When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have been sinning against thee, - and they shall pray toward this place, and confess thy Name, and, from their sin, shall return, because thou hast been afflicting them,

then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way, wherein they should walk, - and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people, for an inheritance?

then hear thou up to heaven thy dwelling place, all the prayers and supplications that shall be made of all men throughout all thy people Israel, which shall knowledge every man the plague of his own heart, and stretch forth his hands unto this house.

then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, in the settled place of thine abode, and forgive and act, and give unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou wilt know, - for, thou thyself alone, knowest the heart of all the sons of men;

to the end they may revere thee, all the days which they do live, upon the face of the soil, - which thou gavest unto our fathers?

wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, and act, according to all for which, the stranger, shall cry unto thee, - to the end that all the peoples of the earth may truly know thy Name, so as to revere thee, like thy people Israel, and to know that, thine own Name, hath been given unto this house, which I have built?

When thy people go forth to war against their enemy, whithersoever thou mayest send them, - and shall pray unto Yahweh, in the direction of the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name,

then wilt thou hear, in the heavens, their prayer and their supplication, - and maintain their cause?

When they sin against thee - for there is, no son of earth, that sinneth not, and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them up before an enemy, - who shall carry them away as their captives, into the land of the enemy, far or near;

and so they turn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who have carried them away captive, - and pray unto thee in the direction of their own land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name,

then wilt thou hearken in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, unto their prayer, and unto their supplication, - and maintain their cause;

because, thy people and thine inheritance, they are, - whom thou didst bring forth out of Egypt, out of the midst of the smelting-pot of iron;

because, thou thyself, didst separate them unto thee, for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, - as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest forth our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.

And Yahweh said unto him - I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, wherewith thou hast made supplication before me, I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my Name there unto times age-abiding, - and mine eyes and my heart shall be there, continually:

As for thee, therefore, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, with a whole heart and with uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, - and, my statutes and my regulations, wilt keep,

then I will establish the seat of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, 'Thou shalt not be without one or other upon the seat of Israel.'

So he said - What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them, Unfruitful Land, as they are called unto this day.

Howbeit I believed not the words, until that I had come and mine own eyes had seen, and lo! there had not been told me, the half, - thou dost exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, even the report which I heard!

Wherefore Yahweh said unto Solomon - Forasmuch as this hath come to pass with thee, and thou hast not heeded my covenant and my statutes, which I charged upon thee, I will, rend, the kingdom away from thee, and will give it unto a servant of thine.

Then said Pharaoh unto him - But what hast thou been lacking with me, that lo! thou art seeking to take thy journey unto thine own land? And he said - Nothing, howbeit, let me go.

But, thee, will I take, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul could desire, - and thou shalt be king over Israel.

So shall it be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in mine eyes, by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as did David my servant, then will I be with thee, and will build thee an assured house, as I have built for David, and will give unto thee, Israel.

Thy father, made our yoke, grievous, - now, therefore do, thou, lighten the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, that we may serve thee.

And they spake unto him, saying - If, to-day, thou wilt be servant unto this people, and wilt serve them, - and answer them kindly, and speak unto them good words, then will they be, thy, servants, always.

Then spake unto him the young men who had grown up with him, saying, Thus, shalt thou say to this people that have spoken unto thee, saying - Thy father, made our yoke heavy, thou, therefore lighten it upon us, Thus, shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger, is thicker than my father's loins;

But the man of God said unto the king - If thou wouldst give me the half of thy house, I would not go in with thee, - neither would I eat bread or drink water, in this place;

for, so, he charged me, by the word of Yahweh, saying, Thou shalt not eat bread, nor shalt thou drink water, - neither shalt thou come back by the way thou wentest.

and went after the man of God, and found him, sitting under an oak. And he said unto him - Art, thou, the man of God who came in out of Judah? And he said - I am.

for there came a message unto me by the word of Yahweh, Thou shalt neither eat bread, nor drink water there, - thou shalt not turn back to come by the way by which thou wentest.

He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

and he cried out unto the man of God who had come in out of Judah, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, - Forasmuch as thou hast rebelled against the bidding of Yahweh, and hast not kept the commandment which Yahweh thy God commanded thee;

but hast returned, and eaten bread and drunk water, in the place of which he said unto thee, Thou mayest neither eat bread nor drink water: thy dead body shall not enter the burying-place of thy fathers.

Then said Jeroboam to his wife - Arise, I pray thee, and feign thyself another, that it be not known, that, thou, art the wife of Jeroboam, - and thou shalt go thy way to Shiloh, lo! there, is Ahijah the prophet, who promised I should be king over this people;

and thou shall take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a bottle of honey, and shalt go unto him, - he, will tell thee what shall befall the young man.

But, Yahweh, had said unto Ahijah - Lo! the wife of Jeroboam, coming to enquire something of thee, concerning her son, for he is sick, thus and so, shalt thou speak unto her, - though, when she cometh in, she feign to be a stranger-woman.

So it came to pass, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she entered the doorway, that he said - Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, - wherefore, is it that thou art feigning to be a stranger-woman, seeing that, I, am sent unto thee, with something hard to bear?

and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee, - and yet thou hast not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me, with all his heart, to do only that which was right in mine eyes;

But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

Thou, therefore, arise, go to thine own house, - as thy feet are entering the city, the young man shall die.

"There is a bond between thee and me as was between thy father and mine. Therefore, I send thee both gold and silver for a gift, that thou go and break the covenant between thee and Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me."

son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying: Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and gave thee to be leader over my people Israel, - and yet thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and caused, my people Israel, to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins,

Go from this place; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that is on the front of the Jordan,

and it shall be that, of the torrent, shalt thou drink, - and, the ravens, have I commanded to sustain thee, there.

Rise, go to Zarephath, that is to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a widow woman to sustain thee.'