LORD, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; verily so will I 31 do this day. Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for 32 ever. And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the 33 king. And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, 34 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 35 trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be 'prince over Israel 36 and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say so too. 37 As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king 38 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 39 to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the 40 people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, 41 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, 42 Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar? While he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came and Adonijah said, Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and bringest good 43 tidings. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our 44 lord king David hath made Solomon king: 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 45 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 46 that ye have heard. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the 47 kingdom. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, "Thy God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king 48 bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne 49 this day, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests of Adonijah 50 were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And Adonijah

feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold 51 on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold,

1 Or, leader

2 Another reading omits Thy.

Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me 'this day that he 52 will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he shall shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the 53 earth: but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

2 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged 2 Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong 3 therefore, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest 2prosper in all that 4 thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: that the LORD may establish 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 5 on the throne of Israel. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and 3shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his 6 shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, 7 and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled 8 from Absalom thy brother. And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, 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 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 thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down 10 to the grave with blood. And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

L

9

1 Or, first of all

2 Or, do wisely

3 Heb. set.

4 Heb. Sheol.

13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother 14 of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said,

Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. 15 And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: 16 for it was his from the LORD. And now I ask one petition of thee, 17 '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 18 he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; 19 I will speak for thee unto the king. Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother: and she sat on 20 his right hand. Then she said, I ask one small petition of thee; deny me not. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will 21 not deny thee. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given 22 to Adonijah thy brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto 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 23 son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word 24 against his own life. Now therefore as the LORD liveth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put 25 to death this day. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the 26 son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him, that he died. 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 27 my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake 28 concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the Tent of the LORD, and caught hold 29 on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon, Joab is fed unto the Tent of the LORD, and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30 And Benaiah came to the Tent of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and 31 thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the

1 Heb. turn not away my face. 2 Heb. a man of.

3 See I Sam. ii. 27—36.

blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's 32 house. And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew it not, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the 33 son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his 34 throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him; and he 35 was buried in his own house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok 36 the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. And the king

sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in 37 Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. For

on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon 38 thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei 39 dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, Behold, thy servants 40 be in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought 41 his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone 42 from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 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 certain, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The saying that I have heard 43 is good. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the✅ 44 commandment that I have charged thee with? The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD 45 shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head. But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before 46 the LORD for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

3 And Solomon made 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 2 LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name 3 of the LORD until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.