King James Version

1 And King David was old, coming in days, and they covered him with clothes, and he was not warm. 2 And his servants said to him, "Let them seek for a young virgin girl to stand before the king, and let her be a nurse for him, and let her lie in your bosom, so that she may be a nurse for the king." 3 And they sought a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and they brought her to the king. 4 And the young girl was very beautiful, and she became a servant to the king, and the king did not know her. 5 And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king," and he made for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 And do not make him sorrowful, my father, from my days, saying, "Why have you done this way?" And he is also very beautiful, and his mother gave birth to him after Absalom. 7 And the words of Joab the son of Zeruiah and of Abiathar the priest were with Adonijah, and they helped him. 8 And Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei and Rekab, the mighty men who were with David, were not with Adonijah. 9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and cattle and fatlings by the stone of Zohelet which is beside En Rogel, and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants. 10 And he did not call Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and his brother Solomon. 11 And Nathan said to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know?" 12 And now, if you will listen to my advice, save your life and the life of your son, Solomon. 13 Go and come to King David and say to me, "Are you not my lord, the king, who swore to your maidservant, saying, 'Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne'? Why then has Adonijah become king?" 14 Here, you are still speaking there with the king, and I will come after you and fulfill your words. 15 And Abishag the Shunammite came to the king, and the king was very old, and Abishag ministered to the king. 16 And Bathsheba bowed down and worshiped the king, and the king said, "What is it to you?" 17 And he said to him, "My lord, you have sworn by the Lord your God to your maidservant that Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne." 18 And now, behold, Adonijah has become king, and now you, my lord, the king, do not know it. 19 And he sacrificed an ox and a fatling and sheep in abundance, and he called all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not call Solomon your servant. 20 And you, my lord, the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 And it will be, when my lord the king lies with his fathers, that I will be, I and my son Solomon, sinners. 22 And behold, she was still speaking with the king, and Nathan the prophet came. 23 And they told the king, saying, "Behold, the prophet has come," and he came before the king and bowed down to the king on his face. 24 And Nathan said to my lord the king, "You have said, 'Adonijah shall reign after me,' and he will sit on my throne." 25 For the day had come, and he sacrificed an ox and fattened sheep and goats in abundance, and he called all the sons of the king and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they were eating and drinking before him, and they said, "Long live King Adonijah!" 26 And I am your servant, and to Zadok the priest, and to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and to Solomon your servant, he did not call. 27 If with the Lord my master this matter shall be, and you have not informed your servant who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him. 28 And King David answered and said, "Call for me Bathsheba." And she came before the king and stood before the king. 29 And the king swore and said, "As surely as the Lord lives who has redeemed my soul from all distress." 30 For I have sworn to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying that Solomon, your son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place, for so I will do this day. 31 And Bathsheba bowed down to the king and said, "Long live my lord King David forever." 32 And King David said, "Call for me Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada." And they came before the king. 33 And the king said to them, "Take with you your master's servants and mount Solomon my son on the mule that belongs to me, and bring him down to Gihon." 34 And you shall anoint him there as a priest; and the prophet shall say, 'Long live King Solomon,' and you shall blow the trumpet. 35 And you shall rise and come after me, and sit on my throne, and he shall reign in my place. And I have appointed him to be leader over Israel and over Judah. 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, "Amen, so may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say." 37 As the Lord was with my lord the king, so let Him be with Solomon and let Him make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David. 38 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went and rode Solomon on King David's mule and brought him down to Gihon. 39 And Zadok the priest took the horn of the oil from the tent and anointed Solomon, and they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!" 40 And all the people went up behind me, and the people were playing on instruments and rejoicing with great joy, and the earth was split by their sound. 41 And Adonijah heard, and all the invited ones who were with him, and they finished eating; and Joab heard the sound of the trumpet and said, "Why is the noise of the city in an uproar?" 42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came, and said, "Adonijah, come, for you are a mighty man and your words are good." 43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "But our lord, King David, has made Solomon king." 44 And the king sent with him Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they mounted him on the king's mule. 45 And they anointed him, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, as king in Gihon; and they ascended from there rejoicing, and the city was in an uproar; this is the sound you have heard. 46 And also Solomon sat on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And also the king's servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, "May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and may He make his throne greater than your throne." And the king bowed on the bed. 48 And also, thus said the king: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has given today one to sit on my throne, and my eyes see. 49 And they were afraid, and all the callers of Adonijah arose and went, each to his own way. 50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was reported to Solomon, saying, "Here, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and behold, he has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'" 52 And Solomon said, "If he be a son of valor, his hair shall not fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he shall die." 53 And King Solomon sent and brought him down from the altar, and he came and bowed to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, "Go to your house."