1 Kings 1-3

I Kings 1

¹And king David is old, entering into days, and they cover him with garments, and he hath no heat,

²and his servants say to him, ‘Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, a virgin, and she hath stood before the king, and is to him a companion, and hath lain in thy bosom, and my lord the king hath heat.'

³And they seek a fair young woman in all the border of Israel, and find Abishag the Shunammite, and bring her in to the king,

⁴and the young woman is very very fair, and she is to the king a companion, and serveth him, and the king hath not known her.

⁵And Adonijah son of Haggith is lifting himself up, saying, ‘I do reign;' and he prepareth for himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men running before him,

⁶and his father hath not grieved him all his days, saying, ‘Wherefore thus hast thou done?' and he also is of a very good form, and his mother bare him after Absalom.

⁷And his words are with Joab son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they help after Adonijah;

⁸and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty ones whom David hath, have not been with Adonijah.

⁹And Adonijah sacrificeth sheep and oxen and fatlings near the stone of Zoheleth, that is by En-Rogel, and calleth all his brethren, sons of the king, and for all the men of Judah, servants of the king;

¹⁰and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty ones, and Solomon his brother, he hath not called.

¹¹And Nathan speaketh unto Bath-Sheba, mother of Solomon, saying, ‘Hast thou not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith hath reigned, and our lord David hath not known?

¹²and now, come, let me counsel thee, I pray thee, and deliver thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon;

¹³go and enter in unto king David, and thou hast said unto him, Hast thou not, my lord, O king, sworn to thy handmaid, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne? and wherefore hath Adonijah reigned?

¹⁴Lo, thou are yet speaking there with the king, and I come in after thee, and have completed thy words.'

¹⁵And Bath-Sheba cometh in unto the king, to the inner chamber, and the king is very aged, and Abishag the Shunammite is serving the king:

¹⁶and Bath-Sheba boweth and doth obeisance to the king, and the king saith, ‘What -- to thee?'

¹⁷And she saith to him, ‘My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid: Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne;

¹⁸and now, lo, Adonijah hath reigned, and now, my lord, O king, thou hast not known;

¹⁹and he sacrificeth ox, and fatling, and sheep in abundance, and calleth for all the sons of the king, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab head of the host -- and for Solomon thy servant he hath not called.

²⁰And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on thee, to declare to them who doth sit on the throne of my lord the king after him;

²¹and it hath been, when my lord the king lieth with his fathers, that I have been, I and my son Solomon -- reckoned sinners.'

²²And lo, she is yet speaking with the king, and Nathan the prophet hath come in;

²³and they declare to the king, saying, ‘Lo, Nathan the prophet;' and he cometh in before the king, and boweth himself to the king, on his face to the earth.

²⁴And Nathan saith, ‘My lord, O king, thou hast said, Adonijah doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne;

²⁵for he hath gone down to-day, and doth sacrifice ox, and fatling, and sheep, in abundance, and calleth for all the sons of the king, and for the heads of the host, and for Abiathar the priest, and lo, they are eating and drinking before him, and they say, Let king Adonijah live!

²⁶‘And for me -- me, thy servant, and for Zadok the priest, and for Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and for Solomon thy servant, he hath not called;

²⁷if from my lord the king this thing hath been, then thou hast not caused thy servant to know who doth sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.'

²⁸And king David answereth and saith, ‘Call for me for Bath-Sheba;' and she cometh in before the king, and standeth before the king.

²⁹And the king sweareth and saith, ‘Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity;

³⁰surely as I sware to thee by Jehovah, God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne in my stead; surely so I do this day.'

³¹And Bath-Sheba boweth -- face to the earth -- and doth obeisance to the king, and saith, ‘Let my lord, king David, live to the age.'

³²And king David saith, ‘Call for me for Zadok the priest, and for Nathan the prophet, and for Benaiah son of Jehoiada;' and they come in before the king.

³³And the king saith to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord, and ye have caused Solomon my son to ride on mine own mule, and caused him to go down unto Gihon,

³⁴and anointed him there hath Zadok the priest -- and Nathan the prophet -- for king over Israel, and ye have blown with a trumpet, and said, Let king Solomon live;

³⁵and ye have come up after him, and he hath come in and hath sat on my throne, and he doth reign in my stead, and him I have appointed to be leader over Israel, and over Judah.'

³⁶And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answereth the king, and saith, ‘Amen! so doth Jehovah, God of my lord the king, say;

³⁷as Jehovah hath been with my lord the king, so is He with Solomon, and doth make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.'

³⁸And Zadok the priest goeth down, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause Solomon to ride on the mule of king David, and cause him to go unto Gihon,

³⁹and Zadok the priest taketh the horn of oil out of the tent, and anointeth Solomon, and they blow with a trumpet, and all the people say, ‘Let king Solomon live.'

⁴⁰And all the people come up after him, and the people are piping with pipes, and rejoicing -- great joy, and the earth rendeth with their voice.

⁴¹And Adonijah heareth, and all those called, who are with him, and they have finished to eat, and Joab heareth the noise of the trumpet, and saith, ‘Wherefore is the noise of the city roaring?'

⁴²He is yet speaking, and lo, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest hath come in, and Adonijah saith, ‘Come in, for a man of valour thou art, and thou bearest good tidings.'

⁴³And Jonathan answereth and saith to Adonijah, ‘Verily our lord king David hath caused Solomon to reign,

⁴⁴and the king sendeth with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause him to ride on the king's mule,

⁴⁵and they anoint him -- Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet -- for king in Gihon, and are come up thence rejoicing, and the city is moved; it is the noise that ye have heard.

⁴⁶‘And also Solomon hath sat on the throne of the kingdom,

⁴⁷and also the servants of the king have come into bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God doth make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and his throne greater than thy throne; and the king boweth himself on the bed,

⁴⁸and also thus hath the king said, Blessed is Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath given to-day one sitting on my throne, and mine eyes seeing.'

⁴⁹And they tremble, and rise -- all those called who are for Adonijah -- and go, each on his way;

⁵⁰and Adonijah feareth because of Solomon, and riseth, and goeth, and layeth hold on the horns of the altar.

⁵¹And it is declared to Solomon, saying, ‘Lo, Adonijah feareth king Solomon, and lo, he hath laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me as to-day -- he doth not put to death his servant by the sword.'

⁵²And Solomon saith, ‘If he becometh a virtuous man -- there doth not fall of his hair to the earth, and if evil is found in him -- then he hath died.'

⁵³And king Solomon sendeth, and they bring him down from off the altar, and he cometh in and boweth himself to king Solomon, and Solomon saith to him, ‘Go to thy house.'

I Kings 2

¹And draw near do the days of David to die, and he chargeth Solomon his son, saying,

²‘I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man,

³and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest,

⁴so that Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake unto me, saying, If thy sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of thine from the throne of Israel.

⁵‘And also, thou hast known that which he did to me -- Joab son of Zeruiah -- that which he did to two heads of the hosts of Israel, to Abner son of Ner, and to Amasa son of Jether -- that he slayeth them, and maketh the blood of war in peace, and putteth the blood of war in his girdle, that is on his loins, and in his sandals that are on his feet;

⁶and thou hast done according to thy wisdom, and dost not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol.

⁷‘And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.

⁸‘And lo, with thee is Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, and he reviled me -- a grievous reviling -- in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he hath come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by Jehovah, saying, I do not put thee to death by the sword;

⁹and now, acquit him not, for a wise man thou art, and thou hast known that which thou dost to him, and hast brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.'

¹⁰And David lieth down with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David,

¹¹and the days that David hath reigned over Israel are forty years, in Hebron he hath reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he hath reigned thirty and three years.

¹²And Solomon hath sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom is established greatly,

¹³and Adonijah son of Haggith cometh in unto Bath-Sheba, mother of Solomon, and she saith, ‘Is thy coming peace?' and he saith, ‘Peace.'

¹⁴And he saith, ‘I have a word unto thee,' and she saith, ‘Speak.'

¹⁵And he saith, ‘Thou hast known that the kingdom was mine, and towards me set their faces had all Israel for reigning, and the kingdom is turned round about, and is my brother's, for from Jehovah it was his;

¹⁶and now, one petition I am asking of thee -- turn not back my face;' and she saith unto him, ‘Speak.'

¹⁷And he saith, ‘Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he doth not turn back thy face, and he doth give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.'

¹⁸And Bath-Sheba saith, ‘Good; I do speak for thee unto the king.'

¹⁹And Bath-Sheba cometh in unto king Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king riseth to meet her, and boweth himself to her, and sitteth on his throne, and placeth a throne for the mother of the king, and she sitteth at his right hand.

²⁰And she saith, ‘One small petition I ask of thee, turn not back my face;' and the king saith to her, ‘Ask, my mother, for I do not turn back thy face.'

²¹And she saith, ‘Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife.'

²²And king Solomon answereth and saith to his mother, ‘And why art thou asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? also ask for him the kingdom -- for he is mine elder brother -- even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.'

²³And king Solomon sweareth by Jehovah, saying, ‘Thus doth God to me, and thus He doth add -- surely against his soul hath Adonijah spoken this word;

²⁴and now, Jehovah liveth, who hath established me, and causeth me to sit on the throne of David my father, and who hath made for me an house as He spake -- surely to-day is Adonijah put to death.'

²⁵And king Solomon sendeth by the hand of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he falleth upon him, and he dieth.

²⁶And to Abiathar the priest said the king, ‘To Anathoth go, unto thy fields; for a man of death thou art, but in this day I do not put thee to death, because thou hast borne the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all that my father was afflicted in.'

²⁷And Solomon casteth out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah, to fulfil the word of Jehovah which He spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸And the report hath come unto Joab -- for Joab hath turned aside after Adonijah, though after Absalom he did not turn aside -- and Joab fleeth unto the tent of Jehovah, and layeth hold on the horns of the altar.

²⁹And it is declared to king Solomon that Joab hath fled unto the tent of Jehovah, and lo, near the altar; and Solomon sendeth Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, ‘Go, fall upon him.'

³⁰And Benaiah cometh in unto the tent of Jehovah, and saith unto him, ‘Thus said the king, Come out;' and he saith, ‘Nay, but here I die.' And Benaiah bringeth back the king word, saying, ‘Thus spake Joab, yea, thus he answered me.'

³¹And the king saith to him, ‘Do as he hath spoken, and fall upon him, and thou hast buried him, and turned aside the causeless blood which Joab shed, from off me, and from off the house of my father;

³²and Jehovah hath turned back his blood on his own head, who hath fallen on two men more righteous and better than he, and slayeth them with the sword, -- and my father David knew not -- Abner son of Ner, head of the host of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, head of the host of Judah;

³³yea, turned back hath their blood on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed to the age; and for David, and for his seed, and for his house, and for his throne, there is peace unto the age, from Jehovah.'

³⁴And Benaiah son of Jehoiada goeth up and falleth upon him, and putteth him to death, and he is buried in his own house in the wilderness,

³⁵and the king putteth Benaiah son of Jehoiada in his stead over the host, and Zadok the priest hath the king put in the stead of Abiathar.

³⁶And the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith to him, ‘Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and thou hast dwelt there, and dost not go out thence any where;

³⁷and it hath been, in the day of thy going out, and thou hast passed over the brook Kidron, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die -- thy blood is on thy head.'

³⁸And Shimei saith to the king, ‘The word is good; as my lord the king hath spoken so doth thy servant do;' and Shimei dwelleth in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹And it cometh to pass, at the end of three years, that flee do two of the servants of Shimei unto Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath, and they declare to Shimei, saying, ‘Lo, thy servants are in Gath;'

⁴⁰and Shimei riseth, and saddleth his ass, and goeth to Gath, unto Achish, to seek his servants, and Shimei goeth and bringeth his servants from Gath.

⁴¹And it is declared to Solomon that Shimei hath gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and doth return,

⁴²and the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith unto him, ‘Have I not caused thee to swear by Jehovah -- and I testify against thee, saying, In the day of thy going out, and thou hast gone anywhere, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die; and thou sayest unto me, The word I have heard is good?

⁴³and wherefore hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the charge that I charged upon thee?'

⁴⁴And the king saith unto Shimei, ‘Thou hast known all the evil that thy heart hath known, which thou didest to David my father, and Jehovah hath turned back thine evil on thy head,

⁴⁵and king Solomon is blessed, and the throne of David is established before Jehovah unto the age.'

⁴⁶And the king chargeth Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he goeth out and falleth on him, and he dieth, and the kingdom is established in the hand of Solomon.

I Kings 3

¹And Solomon joineth in marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and taketh the daughter of Pharaoh, and bringeth her in unto the city of David, till he completeth to build his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

²Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there hath not been built a house for the name of Jehovah till those days.

³And Solomon loveth Jehovah, to walk in the statutes of David his father -- only, in high places he is sacrificing and making perfume --

⁴and the king goeth to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for it is the great high place; a thousand burnt-offerings cause to ascend doth Solomon on that altar.

⁵In Gibeon hath Jehovah appeared unto Solomon, in a dream of the night, and God saith, ‘Ask -- what do I give to thee?'

⁶And Solomon saith, ‘Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as at this day.

⁷And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I am a little child, I do not know to go out and to come in;

⁸and Thy servant is in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude,

⁹and Thou hast given to Thy servant an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?'

¹⁰And the thing is good in the eyes of the Lord, that Solomon hath asked this thing,

¹¹and God saith unto him, ‘Because that thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thee many days, nor asked for thee riches, nor asked the life of thine enemies, and hast asked for thee discernment to understand judgment,

¹²lo, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given to thee a heart, wise and understanding, that like thee there hath not been before thee, and after thee there doth not arise like thee;

¹³and also, that which thou hast not asked I have given to thee, both riches and honour, that there hath not been like thee a man among the kings all thy days;

¹⁴and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.'

¹⁵And Solomon awaketh, and lo, a dream; and he cometh in to Jerusalem, and standeth before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and causeth to ascend burnt-offerings, and maketh peace-offerings. And he maketh a banquet for all his servants,

¹⁶then come in do two women, harlots, unto the king, and stand before him,

¹⁷and the one woman saith, ‘O, my lord, I and this woman are dwelling in one house, and I bring forth with her, in the house;

¹⁸and it cometh to pass on the third day of my bringing forth, that this woman also bringeth forth, and we are together, there is no stranger with us in the house, save we two, in the house.

¹⁹And the son of this woman dieth at night, because she hath lain upon it,

²⁰and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me -- and thy handmaid is asleep -- and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;

²¹and I rise in the morning to suckle my son, and lo, dead; and I consider concerning it in the morning, and lo, it was not my son whom I did bear.'

²²And the other woman saith, ‘Nay, but my son is the living, and thy son the dead;' and this one saith, ‘Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.

²³And the king saith, ‘This one saith, This is my son, the living, and thy son is the dead; and that one saith, Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.'

²⁴And the king saith, ‘Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king,

²⁵and the king saith, ‘Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.'

²⁶And the woman whose son is the living one saith unto the king (for her bowels yearned over her son), yea, she saith, ‘O, my lord, give to her the living child, and put it not at all to death;' and this one saith, ‘Let it be neither mine or thine -- cut it.'

²⁷And the king answereth and saith, ‘Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she is its mother.'

²⁸And all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God is in his heart, to do judgment.