1 Kings, 1

1. Now king David was old [and] stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

1. King David was already a very old man who could no longer keep warm even in very thick clothing.

2. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

2. So his servants said to him, "They should get for my lord king a virgin girl to attend the king and nurse him. She could sleep with you, my lord king, and make you feel warm."

3. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

3. And so they looked for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel. They found Abishag the Shunamite, a very beautiful girl and brought her to the king.

4. And the damsel [was] very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

4. She attended to him, but the king had no intimate relations with her.

5. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

5. Now Adonijah, son of Haggith, had in mind that he would be king and so he provided himself with a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

6. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also [was a] very goodly [man]; and [his mother] bare him after Absalom.

6. His father had never interfered by questioning his conduct, "Why have you done this or that?" He was a very handsome man born of Haggith after Absalom.

7. And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped [him].

7. Adonijah conferred with Joab, son of Zuriah, and with Abiathar, the priest. These two sided with him;

8. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which [belonged] to David, were not with Adonijah.

8. but Zadok, the priest, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada; Nathan, the prophet; Shimei, Rei and David's warriors did not join Adonijah.

9. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which [is] by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:

9. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened calves at the Slipping Stone, beside Engrogel, and invited his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah to join him;

10. But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.

10. but not Nathan the prophet or Benaiah, or the warriors, or his brother Solomon.

11. Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth [it] not?

11. Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, "Have you heard that Adonijah, son of Haggith, acts as a king, unknown to David our lord?

12. Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

12. Let me then give you advice that could save both your life and Solomon your son.

13. Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?

13. Go, see King David immediately and tell him this, 'Did you not, my lord king, swear to your handmaid that Solomon, my son, would reign after you and sit on your throne? Why then does Adonijah act as king?'

14. Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

14. Then, while you are still speaking with the king, I will come in and confirm what you say."

15. And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

15. So Bathsheba went to the king, right into his room. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunamite was attending to him.)

16. And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

16. Bathsheba bowed in homage to the king who asked her, "What do you want?"

17. And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, [saying], Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

17. She answered him, "My lord, you swore to your handmaid by Yahweh your God that Solomon, my son, would reign after you and sit on your throne.

18. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest [it] not:

18. But now, Adonijah acts as king without your knowing it, my lord king.

19. And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

19. He has sacrificed oxen, fattened calves and plenty of sheep, inviting all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, commander of the army; but he did not invite Solomon your servant.

20. And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel [are] upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

20. And now, my lord king, all Israel is waiting for your decision as to who shall reign as your successor.

21. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

21. If this is not known when my lord the king passes away, I and my son Solomon will be numbered among the criminals."

22. And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

22. While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived

23. And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

23. and was announced to the king, "Here is Nathan the prophet." When Nathan came in before the king, he bowed before him with his face to the ground,

24. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

24. and said, "My lord king, have you decided that Adonijah shall reign after you and sit on your throne?

25. For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

25. For indeed, today he has gone down to sacrifice oxen, fattened calves and plenty of sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, Joab, the commander of the army, and Abiathar the priest. They are now eating and drinking with him and proclaiming, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

26. But me, [even] me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.

26. But he has not invited me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.

27. Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed [it] unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

27. Has my lord king decided this without having told us, your servants, who is to sit on your throne after you?"

28. Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.

28. King David then answered, "Call Bathsheba to me." So she came to the king. As she stood before him,

29. And the king sware, and said, [As] the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

29. the king swore an oath and said, "As Yahweh lives, he who has delivered me from all adversity,

30. Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

30. so will I fulfill today the oath I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, when I said: "Solomon, your son, shall reign after me; he shall sit on my throne in my place."

31. Then Bathsheba bowed with [her] face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

31. Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king as she said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

32. And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

32. King David then said, "Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada." So they came to the king

33. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

33. who said to them, "Take with you the servants of your lord and make my son Solomon ride on my own mule. Then bring him down to Gihon

34. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

34. and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king of Israel. Once this is done, sound the horn and proclaim, 'Long live King Solomon!'

35. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

35. Then he shall sit on my throne in your presence. From now on he will be king in my place for I have made him ruler of Israel and Judah."

36. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so [too].

36. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, answered the king, "Amen! May Yahweh, the God of my lord king, confirm this.

37. As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

37. As Yahweh has been with my lord king, may he also be with Solomon and make his reign even greater than that of my lord King David's."

38. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.

38. So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, together with the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and made Solomon ride on King David's mule to Gihon.

39. And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

39. There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil that was in the Holy Tent and anointed Solomon.

40. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

40. They then sounded the horn and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!" They all went up after him playing on pipes; and their shouts were so great that the noise seemed to rent the earth.

41. And Adonijah and all the guests that [were] with him heard [it] as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore [is this] noise of the city being in an uproar?

41. Adonijah and all his guests heard this as they finished feasting. On hearing the sound of the horn, Joab asked, "What is all this commotion in the city?"

42. And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou [art] a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.

42. While he was still speaking, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, arrived and Adonijah asked, "Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news."

43. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

43. Jonathan answered Adonijah, "Not at all, for our lord King David has made Solomon king.

44. And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:

44. The king sent him with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Plethites who made him ride on the king's mule.

45. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This [is] the noise that ye have heard.

45. Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king at Gihon. As they returned, all the city cheered; this is the noise that you have heard.

46. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

46. Solomon already sits on the royal throne

47. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

47. and the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying: 'May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours and his reign greater than yours.' At this, the king bowed in worship on his bed and said,

48. And also thus said the king, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel, which hath given [one] to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing [it].

48. "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne this day when I can still see it."

49. And all the guests that [were] with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

49. All the guests of Adonijah trembled and left, each going his own way.

50. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

50. In his fear of Solomon, Adonijah went and held onto the horns of the altar.

51. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

51. This was reported to Solomon, "Adonijah is so afraid of King Solomon that he has held onto the horns of the altar, and he says, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not slay me with the sword'."

52. And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

52. Solomon replied, "If he proves to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head shall perish. But if he acts like a wicked man, he shall die."

53. 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 thine house.

53. So King Solomon sent for him and they brought him down from the altar. He came before King Solomon and paid him homage; after that, Solomon sent him home.