But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.

And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were assembled, and went also after him.

And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

And when he was come near to her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became faint.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, Thou shalt go out no more with us to battle, that thou mayest not extinguish the light of Israel.

And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him.

And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my preserver; thou savest me from violence.

And he made darkness pavilions around him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from my iniquity.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there assembled to battle, and the men of Israel had gone away:

He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand adhered to the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder.

And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were collected into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.

And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.

And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, I have sinned greatly in what I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come upon thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now consider, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to the LORD in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming towards him: And Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.

And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good to him: behold, here are oxen for burnt-sacrifice, and threshing-instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat.

Wherefore 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 let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

And the damsel was very fair, and cherished 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 him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

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

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

Go, and enter in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, 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 doth Adonijah reign?

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

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

For he hath gone down this day, and hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

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

The king also 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 with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

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.

As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so let him be 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 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 that 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?

And 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 tidings.

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 have come from thence rejoicing, so that the city resounded. This is the noise that ye have heard.

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

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

And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite 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 Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do to him; but his hoary head do thou bring down to the grave with blood.

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

Bath-sheba 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 seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.

And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunamite 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 Zeruiah.

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

And it was told to king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of the 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 tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, Thus saith 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 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.

So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

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

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

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

And Solomon said, Thou hast shown to thy servant David my father great mercy, 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 kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

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 thy enemies: but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

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

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

The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:

Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even to the place that is beyond Jokneam:

The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brazen bars:

For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side of the river: and he had peace on all sides around him.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

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

And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: thou didst speak also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day.

Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; provided thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house:

Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

That he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.

And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance into Hamath to the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And the LORD said to 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 my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.

That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them from Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him for a wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh said to him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own country? And he answered, Nothing: yet, in any wise let me go.

And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus.

And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: