1 Kings 1
1 When King David was very old [IDM, DOU], even though his servants put many blankets on top of him, he was unable to become warm.
Now king David was old, stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not become warm.
2 So they said to him, “Your Majesty, allow us to search for a young virgin who can stay with you and take care of you. She can sleep close to you and enable you to become warm.”
Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let them seek out for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and let her be an attendant on him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may become warm.
3 [The king gave them permission, ] so they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman. They found a woman named Abishag, from Shunem [town], and brought her to the king.
So they sought for a fair maiden throughout all the territory of Israel; and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 She was [truly] very beautiful. She took care of [DOU] the king, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.
And the maiden was exceedingly fair; and she became an attendant on the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.
5 [After Absalom died], David’s oldest surviving son was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. He was a very handsome/good-looking man. But David had never rebuked him about anything he did. [After Absalom died, Adonijah thought that he would become king]. So he started to boast, saying “I will become king [now].” Then he provided for himself some chariots, and men to drive them, and horses [to pull them], and 50 men to run [as his bodyguards] in front of those chariots [wherever he went].
And Adoniyah the son of Chaggith exalted himself, saying, I shall be king: and he procured himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men who ran before him.
And his father had never grieved him in all his life by saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was of a very goodly form; and his mother had born him after Abshalom.
7 One day he conferred with Joab, [David’s army commander], and Abiathar the priest, and they promised/agreed to help/support Adonijah.
And he had conferences with Joab the son of Zeruyah, and with Ebyathar the priest: and they, following Adoniyah, helped him.
8 But Zadok, who was also a priest, Benaiah [who had supervised David’s bodyguards], Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei, and David’s most capable soldiers refused to help/support Adonijah.
But Zadok the priest, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and Nathan the prophet, and Shim'i, and Re'i, and the mighty men that belonged to David, were not with Adoniyah.
9 One day Adonijah went to Snake Rock near En-Rogel [Spring, which is near Jerusalem], to sacrifice some sheep and oxen and fattened cattle. He invited most of his brothers, King David’s other sons, to come. He also invited all of the king’s officials from Judah to come to the celebration.
And Adoniyah slaughtered sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone Zocheleth, which is by 'En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants;
10 But he did not invite Nathan or Benaiah or the king’s most capable soldiers or his [younger/half]-brother Solomon.
But Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he invited not.
11 Nathan [found out what they were doing, so he went to] Solomon’s mother Bathsheba [and] asked her, “Have you not heard that Haggith’s son Adonijah is declared himself to be the king? And King David does not know about it!
And Nathan spoke unto Bath-sheba' the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adoniyah the son of Chaggith is become king, and [that] David our lord knoweth it not?
12 So if you want to save yourself and your son Solomon from being killed, allow me to tell you what you should do.
And now come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thy own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
13 Go immediately to King David. Say to him, ‘Your Majesty, you solemnly promised me [RHQ] that my son Solomon would become the king after you [die], and that he would sit on your throne [and rule]. So why is it that Adonijah [has said that he] is now the king?’
Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thy hand-maid, saying, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne? why then is Adoniyah become king?
14 Then, while you are still talking to the king, I will come in and tell him that what you are saying to him [about Adonijah] is true.”
And, lo, while thou shalt be yet speaking there with the king, I myself will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
15 So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag was taking care of him.
And Bath-sheba' went in unto the king into the chamber, and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering unto the king.
16 Bathsheba bowed very low in front of the king, and the king asked her, “What do you want?”
And Bath-sheba' bowed, and prostrated herself unto the king: and the king said, What wouldst thou?
17 She replied, “Your Majesty, you solemnly promised me, knowing that Yahweh our God [was listening] [IDM], that my son Solomon would become king after you [die], and that he would sit on your throne [and rule].
And she said unto him, My lord, thou thyself didst swear by the Lord thy God unto thy hand-maid, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne.
18 But now, believe it or not, Adonijah has become king, and you do not know anything about it.
And now, behold, Adoniyah is become king; and now, my lord, O king, thou knowest it not:
19 He has sacrificed a lot of oxen and fattened cattle and sheep, and he has invited all of your other sons to the celebration. He has also invited Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of your army, but he did not invite your son Solomon.
And he hath slaughtered oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath invited all the sons of the king, and Ebyathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but Solomon thy servant hath he not invited.
20 Your Majesty, all the people [SYN] of Israel are expecting you to tell them who is the one who will become king after you are no longer the king.
And as for thee, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, to tell them, who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 If you do not do that, what will happen is that after you die [EUP] people will consider that my son Solomon and I are rebelling, [and they will execute us because we did not help Adonijah to become king].”
Otherwise it would come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon may be counted offenders.
22 While she was still talking to the king, Nathan came [to the palace].
And, lo, while she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23 The king’s servants/advisors told David, “Nathan the prophet has come.” So [Bathsheba left, and] Nathan went into where the king was and knelt down, with his face on the ground.
And they told the king, saying, Behold, here is Nathan the prophet: and when he was come in before the king, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 Then Nathan said, “Your Majesty, have you declared that Adonijah will become king after you are no longer the king?
And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou then said, Adoniyah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
25 [I say that] because today he has gone down [to En-Rogel Spring] and has sacrificed a lot of oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. And he has invited all of your other sons, Joab the army commander, and Abiathar the priest. They are all eating and drinking with him and saying ‘We hope/desire that King Adonijah will live a long time!’
For he is gone down this day, and hath slaughtered oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Ebyathar the priest: and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and they say, Long live king Adoniyah.
26 But he did not invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon.
But as for me, me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and thy servant Solomon, hath he not invited.
27 Did you, as the king, say that they should do this without telling your other officials who you want to become king [MTY] after you are no longer the king?”
Can it be that this hath been done by order of my lord the king, and thou hast not informed thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
28 Then [after Nathan left the room, ] King David said [to one of his servants], “Tell Bathsheba to come in here again.” So [he went and told her, and] she came in and stood in front of the king.
Then answered king David, and said, Call me Bath-sheba'; and she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
29 Then the king said, “Yahweh has rescued me from all my troubles. I promised you, with Yahweh the God whom we Israelis [worship] listening, that your son Solomon would be king after I am no longer the king. Today, as surely as Yahweh lives, [I solemnly declare that] I will do what I promised.”
And the king swore and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
Even as I have sworn unto thee by the Lord the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and only he shall sit upon my throne in my stead: even so will I certainly do this day.
31 Bathsheba knelt down with her face on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, I hope/desire that you will live for many more years [HYP]!”
Then did Bath-sheba' bow herself with her face to the earth, and prostrate herself unto the king; and she said, May my lord, the king David, live for ever!
32 Then King David said, “Summon Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah.” [So someone went and summoned them.] When they came in,
And king David said, Call unto me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada'. And they came before the king.
33 he said to them, “Put my son Solomon on my mule. Take him with my officials down to Gihon [Spring].
And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and conduct him down to Gichon:
34 There, you two, Zadok and Nathan, should anoint him, [with olive oil to appoint him to be] the king of Israel. Then you must blow trumpets, and [all the people there must] shout, ‘We hope/desire that King Solomon will live for many years!’
And let Zadok the priest with Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel; and blow ye with the cornet, and say, Long live king Solomon.
35 Then follow him back here, and he will come and sit on my throne. He will then become king instead of me. I have appointed him to be the ruler of [all the people of] Israel and of Judah.”
Then shall ye go up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; and he shall be king in my stead: and him have I ordained to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36 Benaiah replied, “We will do that! We hope/wish that Yahweh, who is your God [and our God], will cause it to happen!
And Benayahu the son of Yehoyada' answered the king, and said, Amen: May thus say the Eternal the God of my lord the king.
37 King David, Yahweh has helped you; we hope/wish that he will also help Solomon and enable him to become a greater king than you have been.”
As the Eternal hath been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my lord the king David.
38 So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the two groups of men who were the king’s bodyguards went and put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him down to Gihon [Spring].
Thereupon Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and the Kerethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and conducted him to Gichon.
39 There Zadok took the container of [olive] oil from the Sacred Tent and (anointed/poured some oil on) Solomon. Then the trumpets were blown, and all the people shouted, “We hope/wish that King Solomon will live for many years!”
And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew with the cornet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon.
40 Then all the people followed him back up [to the city], shouting joyfully and playing flutes. They shouted very loudly, with the result that the ground shook.
And all the people went up after him, and the people blew on flutes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth was rent at their noise.
41 When Adonijah and all (his guests/the people whom he had invited) were finishing eating at their celebration, they heard the noise. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpets, he asked, “What is causing all that noise in the city?”
And Adoniyah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had just finished eating: and when Joab heard the sound of the cornet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city in an uproar?
42 While he was still speaking, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in! You are a man whom we can trust, so you must be bringing us good news!”
And while he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Ebyathar the priest came in: and Adoniyah said [unto him], Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and must bring good tidings.
43 Jonathan replied, “No, [I do not have good news]! His Majesty, King David, has caused Solomon to be the king!
And Jonathan answered and said to Adoniyah, Alas, no; our lord king David hath made Solomon king;
44 He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and his own group of bodyguards to go with Solomon. They put Solomon on King David’s mule.
And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada', and the Kerethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule;
45 They [went down to] Gihon [Spring], and there Zadok and Nathan anointed him to become the king. Now they have returned from there to the city, shouting joyfully. That is why there is that great/loud noise that you are hearing.
And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him as king on the Gichon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, and the city hath been set in commotion. This is the noise that ye have heard.
46 So Solomon is now our king [MTY].
And Solomon hath also sat on the kingly throne.
47 Furthermore, the palace officials came to His Majesty, King David, to tell him that they approved of what he had done. They said, ‘We wish/hope that our God will enable Solomon [MTY] to become more famous than you have been and enable him to be a better king than you have been.’ When they said that, the king, lying on his bed, bowed his head to worship [Yahweh].
And also the king's servants are come to bless our lord king David, saying, May God make the name of Solomon more famous than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king hath bowed himself upon the bed.
48 Then he said, ‘I praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], because he has allowed one of my sons to become the king today, and has permitted me to see it happen.’”
And also thus hath the king said, Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath given [me] this day one who sitteth on my throne, while my eyes see it.
49 Then all of Adonijah’s guests (trembled/were afraid), so they all immediately got up and left and scattered.
And all the guests that were with Adoniyah were terrified, and rose up, and went, every man, on his own way.
50 Adonijah was afraid of what Solomon [would do], so he went [to the Sacred Tent] and grabbed the projections at the corners of the altar, [because he knew that no one would kill him there].
And Adoniyah was afraid because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
51 But someone told Solomon, “Hey/Listen, Adonijah is afraid of you, so he [has gone to the Sacred Tent and] is holding on to the corners of the altar. He is saying, ‘[Before I leave, ] I want King Solomon to solemnly promise that he will not command that I be executed.’”
And it was told unto Solomon, saying, Behold, Adoniyah feareth king Solomon; and, behold, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
52 Solomon replied, “If he proves that he is loyal to me, I will not harm him at all [IDM]. But if he does anything that is wrong, he will be executed.”
And Solomon said, If he will become a worthy man, there shall not a hair of his fall to the earth; but if any wrong shall be found on him, then shall he die.
53 So King Solomon sent [some men to Adonijah], and they brought him back from the altar. He came to Solomon and bowed down in front of him. Then Solomon said to him, “Go home.”
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 thy house.
