1 Now king David was old andstricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat
no heat.
2 Wherefore his servants said unto 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.
3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a
Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 And the damsel wasvery fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king
knew her not.
5 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.
6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he
also was avery goodly man; and his motherbare him after Absalom.
7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they
following Adonijah helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and
Rei, and the mighty men which belongedto David, were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which isby
Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called
not.
11 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 itnot?
12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own
life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
13 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?
14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and
confirm thy words.
15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and
Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest
thou?
17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid,
saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest itnot:
19 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.
20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel areupon thee, that thou shouldest tell them
who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I
and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
22 And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23 And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before
the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall
sit upon my throne?

25 For he is 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.
26 But me, evenme thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy
servant Solomon, hath he not called.
27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed itunto thy servant, who
should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's
presence, and stood before the king.
29 And the king sware, and said, Asthe LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all
distress,
30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall
reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with herface to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said,
Let my lord king David live for ever.
32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my
son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
34 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.
35 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.
36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD 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 David.
38 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.
39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And
they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
40 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.
41 And Adonijah and all the guests that werewith him heard itas they had made an end of
eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is thisnoise of the
city being in an uproar?
42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah
said unto him, Come in; for thou arta valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon
king.
44 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:
45 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 isthe noise that ye have heard.
46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the
name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the

king bowed himself upon the bed.
48 And also thus said the king, Blessed bethe LORD God of Israel, which hath given oneto sit
on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
49 And all the guests that werewith Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his
way.
50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns
of the altar.
51 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.
52 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.
53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed
himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his
commandments, and his judgments, 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:
4 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.
5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, andwhat 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 shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that
wasabout his loins, and in his shoes that wereon his feet.
6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
7 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 because of Absalom thy brother.
8 And, behold, thou hastwith 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.
9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou arta wise man, and knowest what thou
oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
11 And the days that David reigned over Israel wereforty years: seven years reigned he in
Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established
greatly.
13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said,
Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and thatall Israel set their faces on
me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it
was his from the LORD.
16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
17 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.