Now King David was old, advanced in years; they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm.

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

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 bare him after Absalom.

But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

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

Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?

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

And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:

And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, 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 called.

If a decision is not made, when my master the king is buried with his ancestors, my son Solomon and I will be considered state criminals."

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

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

“Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

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

That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

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.

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

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."

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

And 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.

Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.

But King Solomon replied to his mother, "Why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why not ask me to give up the kingdom for him, since he's my older brother, and why not ask for Abiathar the priest, and for Zeruiah's son Joab?"

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 thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

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?

Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there hath not been built a house for the name of Jehovah till those days.

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

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

and Thy servant is in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude,

And God said unto 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 understanding to discern judgment;

lo, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given to thee a heart, wise and understanding, that like thee there hath not been before thee, and after thee there doth not arise like 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.

It happened on the third day [after] my giving birth, this woman also gave birth, and we [were] together. There was not anyone with us in the house, only the two of us [were] in the house.

And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me -- and thy handmaid is asleep -- and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;

And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

"Not so," claimed the other woman. "The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours." But the first woman said, "Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son." This is what they testified before the king.

Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.

And the woman whose son is the living one saith unto the king (for her bowels yearned over her son), yea, she saith, 'O, my lord, give to her the living child, and put it not at all to death;' and this one saith, 'Let it be neither mine or thine -- cut it.'

And the king answereth and saith, 'Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she is its mother.'

ten calves fattened in the stall, twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds.

These governors sustained King Solomon and all who came near to the table of King Solomon, each [in] his month; they did not omit anything.

Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto 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 now Jehovah my God caused rest to me from round about; not an adversary and not an evil event

Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: "I received the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need.

My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate. There I will separate the logs and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court."

So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar-wood and cypress-wood he had need of;

not including his 3,300 deputies in charge of the work. They ruled over the people doing the work.

The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

And the house, in its being built, of perfect stone brought thither hath been built, and hammer, and the axe -- any instrument of iron -- was not heard in the house, in its being built.

And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

And the cedar for the house within is carvings of knobs and openings of flowers; the whole is cedar, there is not a stone seen.

Nets of net-work, wreaths of chain-work are for the chapiters that are on the top of the pillars, seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the second chapiter.

And he maketh the pillars, and two rows round about on the one net-work, to cover the chapiters that are on the top, with the pomegranates, and so he hath made for the second chapiter.

and the chapiters on the two pillars also above, over-against the protuberance that is beside the net; and the pomegranates are two hundred, in rows round about on the second chapiter.

And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

The two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two net-works, to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars;

and the pomegranates four hundred for the two nets, two rows of pomegranates for the one net, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that are on the front of the pillars;

And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed , because they were exceeding many: the weight of the brass could not be found out.

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

And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

There was not [anything] in the ark {except} the two tablets of stone which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh {made} [a covenant] with the {Israelites} after they went out from the land of Egypt.

So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

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;

From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, there is not a God like Thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants, those walking before Thee with all their heart,

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

But, is it true? -- God dwelleth on the earth! lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens do not contain Thee, how much less this house which I have builded!

That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

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

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:

The same day the king made holy the middle of the open square in front of the house of the Lord, offering there the burned offering and the meal offering and the fat of the peace-offerings; for there was not room on the brass altar of the Lord for the burned offerings and the meal offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings.

So Solomon observed the Festival of Tents at that time, as did all of Israel with him. A large assembly came up from as far away as Lebo-hamath and the Wadi of Egypt to appear in the presence of the LORD our God, not just for seven days, but for seven days after that, a total of fourteen days.

Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon 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:

(Hiram, king of Tyre, had given Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees and gold, as much as he had need of,) King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee.

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

And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

And out of the sons of Israel Solomon hath not appointed a servant, for they are the men of war, and his servants, and his heads, and his captains, and the heads of his chariots, and his horsemen.

And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his butlers, and his burnt-offering that he causeth to ascend in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been in her any more spirit.

Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices very many, and precious stone; there came not like that spice any more for abundance that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

and the king maketh the almug-trees a support for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; there have not come such almug-trees, nor have there been seen such unto this day.

not including revenue from traders, merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land.

And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, which was not of the least account in the days of Solomon.

Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.