THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
1:38. So Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, went down, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gihon.
1:39. And Sadoc, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God save king Solomon.
1:40. And all the multitude went up after him, and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy, and the earth rang with the noise of their cry.
1:41. And Adonias, and all that were invited by him, heard it, and now the feast was at an end. Joab also, hearing the sound of the trumpet, said: What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar?
1:42. While he yet spoke, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came: and Adonias said to him: Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news.
1:43. And Jonathan answered Adonias: Not so: for our lord, king David, hath appointed Solomon king;
1:44. And hath sent with him Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and they have set him upon the king's mule:
1:45. And Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, have anointed him king, in Gihon: and they are gone up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that you have heard.
1:46. Moreover, Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the kingdom.
1:47. And the king's servants going in, have blessed our lord king David, saying: May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored in his bed:
1:48. And he said: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes seeing it.
1:49. Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid, and they all arose, and every man went his way.
1:50. And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose and went, and took hold of the horn of the altar.
1:51. And they told Solomon, saying: Behold Adonias fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not kill his servant with the sword.
1:52. And Solomon said: If he be a good man, there shall not so much as one hair of his head fall to the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall die.
1:53. Then king Solomon sent, and brought him out from the altar: and going in, he worshipped king Solomon: and Solomon said to him: Go to thy house.
3 Kings Chapter 2
David, after giving his last charge to Solomon, dieth. Adonias is put to death: Abiathar is banished: Joab and Semei are slain.
1:1. And the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged his son Solomon, saying:
2:2. I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage and shew thyself a man.
2:3. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and observe his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses: that thou mayst understand all thou dost, and whithersoever thou shalt turn thyself:
2:4. That the Lord may confirm his words, which he hath spoken of me, saying: If thy children shall take heed to their ways, and shall walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from thee a man on the throne of Israel.
2:5. Thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Sarvia, hath done to me, what he did to the two captains of the army of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner, and to Amasa, the son of Jether: whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
Joab... These instructions given by David to his son, with relation to Joab and Semei, proceeded not from any rancour of heart, or private pique; but from a zeal for justice, that crimes so public and heinous might not pass unpunished.
2:6. Do, therefore, according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to hell in peace.
To hell... This word hell doth not here signify the place or state of damnation; but the place and state of the dead.
2:7. But shew kindness to the sons of Berzellai, the Galaadite, and let them eat at thy table: for they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom, thy brother.
2:8. Thou hast also with thee Semei, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to the camp: but because he came down to meet me when I passed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying: I will not kill thee with the sword:
2:9. Do not thou hold him guiltless. But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him, and thou shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave.
2:10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
2:11. And the days that David reigned in Israel, were forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years, in Jerusalem thirty-three.
2:12. And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly.
2:13. And Adonias, the son of Haggith, came to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon. And she said to him: Is thy coming peaceable? He answered: It is peaceable.
2:14. And he added: I have a word to speak with thee. She said to him: Speak. And he said:
2:15. Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had preferred me to be their king: but the kingdom is transferred, and is become my brother's: for it was appointed him by the Lord.
2:16. Now therefore, I ask one petition of thee; turn not away my face. And she said to him: Say on.
2:17. And he said I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing) to give me Abisag, the Sunamitess, to wife.
2:18. And Bethsabee said: Well, I will speak for thee to the king.
2:19. Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand.
2:20. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee; do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother ask, for I must not turn away thy face.