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This book contains the account of King Solomon’s reign and of Israel being divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, after his death. We call this book
1 Kings
1
When King David was an old man
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. 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.”
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. 4 She was truly very beautiful. She took care of [DOU] the king, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.
Adonijah tried to become the king
5-6 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.
7 One day he conferred with Joab, David’s army commander, and Abiathar the priest, and they promised/agreed to help/support Adonijah. 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.
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. 10 But he did not invite Nathan or Benaiah or the king’s most capable soldiers or his younger/half-brother Solomon.
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! 12 So if you want to save yourself and your son Solomon from being killed, allow me to tell you what you should do. 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?’ 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.”
15 So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag was taking care of him. 16 Bathsheba bowed very low in front of the king, and the king asked her, “What do you want?”
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. 18 But now, believe it or not, Adonijah has become king, and you do not know anything about it. 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. 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. 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.”
22 While she was still talking to the king, Nathan came to the palace. 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.
24 Then Nathan said, “Your Majesty, have you declared that Adonijah will become king after you are no longer the king? 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!’ 26 But he did not invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon. 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?”
David arranged for Solomon to be declared king
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.
29-30 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.” 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]!”
32 Then King David said, “Summon Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah.” So someone went and summoned them. When they came in, 33 he said to them, “Put my son Solomon on my mule. Take him with my officials down to Gihon Spring. 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!’ 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.”
36 Benaiah replied, “We will do that! We hope/wish that Yahweh, who is your God and our God, will cause it to happen! 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.”
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. 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!” 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.
Adonijah’s reaction
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?”
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!”
43 Jonathan replied, “No, I do not have good news! His Majesty, King David, has caused Solomon to be the 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. 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. 46 So Solomon is now our king [MTY]. 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. 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.’ ”
49 Then all of Adonijah’s guests ◄trembled/were afraid►, so they all immediately got up and left and scattered. 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. 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.’ ”
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.” 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.”

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.