¹Now when King David was old, becoming advanced in years, they covered him with clothes, but he didn't become warm, ²and his servants said to him, “Let us seek for my lord the king a girl, a virgin, who will stand before the king and be a companion to him, and who will lie in your bosom, and my lord the king will become warm.” ³So they sought a pretty girl in all the territory of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammitess, and they brought her to the king. ⁴And the girl was very pretty, and she became a companion to the king, and she attended to him, but the king did not know her. ⁵Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself and said, “I will reign”, and he organized for himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men to run before him. ⁶And his father never criticized him, saying, “Why have you done this?” Moreover he was very handsome in appearance. Now Haggith had borne him after Absalom. ⁷And there were dealings with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they supported Adonijah. ⁸But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and the warriors who were attached to David were not with Adonijah. ⁹And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and cattle and fatted calves at the Crawling Stone which is by En-Rogel, and he invited all his brothers – the king's sons – and all men of Judah who were the king's servants. ¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the warriors or Solomon his brother. ¹¹And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and he said, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is reigning, and David our lord does not realize it? ¹²So now, depart and please let me give you some advice, and save your life and your son Solomon's life. ¹³Depart and go to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your maidservant and say, «Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne?» So how come Adonijah is reigning?’ ¹⁴While you are still speaking there with the king, you will see that I will come after you and complement your words.” ¹⁵So Bathsheba went to the king, to the room where he was, and the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammitess was attending to the king. ¹⁶And Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself to the king, and the king said, “What do you want?” ¹⁷And she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant and said, ‘Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸But now look, Adonijah is reigning, although, my lord the king, you do not now realize it. ¹⁹And he has sacrificed oxen and fatted calves and sheep in abundance, and he invited all the king's sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite Solomon your servant. ²⁰And now, my lord the king, the eyes of the whole of Israel are on you, for you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹Otherwise, it will be the case that when my lord the king lies with his fathers that I and my son Solomon will be seen as failures.” ²²And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³And they told the king, and they said, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And he came before the king and prostrated himself to the king face down to the ground. ²⁴And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne?’ ²⁵For he came down today and sacrificed oxen and fatted calves and sheep in abundance, and he invited all the king's sons and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and there they are eating and drinking in his presence, and they said, ‘May Adonijah the king live!’ ²⁶But he did not invite me, your selfsame servant, or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, or Solomon your servant. ²⁷Was this event instigated by my lord the king, yet without you informing your servants who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” ²⁸Then King David answered and said, “Call for Bathsheba to come to me.” And she came before the king, and before the king she stood. ²⁹And the king swore and said, “As the Lord lives, who redeemed my person from all adversity, ³⁰for just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel and said, ‘Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne instead of me’, so I will perform it this day.” ³¹At this Bathsheba bowed face down to the ground and prostrated herself to the king and said, “May the lord King David live age-abidingly.” ³²And King David said, “Summon Zadok the priest to me, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came before the king. ³³And the king said to them, “Take your lord's servants with you, and mount Solomon my son on my she-mule, and take him down to Gihon, ³⁴and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint him there as king over Israel, and you will sound the ramshorn and say, ‘May King Solomon live!’ ³⁵Then you will go up after him, and he will come and sit on my throne, and he will reign instead of me, for I have appointed him to be a leader over Israel and over Judah.” ³⁶And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen. May the Lord God of my lord the king say likewise. ³⁷As the Lord has been with my lord the king, may he so be with Solomon, and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” ³⁸So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and mounted Solomon on King David's she-mule, and they led him to Gihon. ³⁹Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and he anointed Solomon, and they sounded the ramshorn, and all the people said, “May King Solomon live!” ⁴⁰And all the people went up after him, and the people played pipes and rejoiced greatly, so that the earth was sundered at the sound of them. ⁴¹And Adonijah heard about it, as did all his guests who were with him, and when they had finished eating, and Joab heard the sound of the ramshorn, he asked, “Why is the town in an uproar?” ⁴²While he was still speaking, they saw Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest come. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a valiant man, and bring good news.” ⁴³And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “Actually, our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴And the king has sent Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and the Cherethites and the Pelethites with him, and they mounted him on the king's she-mule. ⁴⁵And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him as king in Gihon, and they went up from there rejoicing, and the town became boisterous – that is the sound which you heard. ⁴⁶And moreover Solomon has sat on the royal throne. ⁴⁷And also the king's servants have come to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God favour Solomon's name more than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed on his couch. ⁴⁸And the king also said this: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has provided one to sit on my throne while my eyes see it.’ ” ⁴⁹And all Adonijah's guests were afraid, and they arose, and each went his own way. ⁵⁰And Adonijah feared Solomon, and he arose and departed, and he took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹And it was reported to Solomon as follows: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and in fact he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon swear to me today that he certainly will not put his servant to death by the sword.’ ” ⁵²Then Solomon said, “If he will be a man of integrity, not a hair will fall to the ground, but if malignity is found in him, he will die.” ⁵³Then King Solomon sent a company, and they brought him down from the altar, and he came and bowed to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”