1 Kings 1:28-53

Modern English Version

Solomon Becomes King^(A)

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.

²⁹ The king vowed, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress, ³⁰ even as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your 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 her face to the ground in reverence to the king and said, “Let my lord King David live forever.”

³² King David said, “Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada for me.” So they came before the king. ³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. ³⁴ And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘God save King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall come up after him. And he shall come and sit on my throne, for he will be king in my place as I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, also say so! ³⁷ As the Lord has been with my lord the king, may He also be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “God save King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ All the people came up to see him and played flutes and greatly rejoiced, so that the earth shook at the sound.

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard the commotion as they were finishing their meal, and when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city so loud and in an uproar?”

⁴² While he was speaking, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a valiant man and bring good tidings.”

⁴³ Jonathan answered Adonijah, saying, “Surely our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Kerethites, and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from their rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you heard. ⁴⁶ Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself upon the bed. ⁴⁸ The king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day so that I could see with my own eyes.’ ”

⁴⁹ All the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went on their way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah feared Solomon. So he got up and went to the altar and held on to its horns. ⁵¹ Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah fears King Solomon, for he has caught hold of the horns on the altar, saying ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.’ ”

⁵² And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent for him, and they brought him down from the altar, and he came and bowed himself to King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”