Daily Text and Bible Reading: Wednesday, April 16 [Press play below]

1.1 Now King David was old, advanced in years, and although they would cover him with garments, he could not get warm.
1.2 So his servants said to him: “Let a girl, a virgin, be found for my lord the king, and she will wait on the king as his nurse. She will lie in your arms so that my lord the king may feel warm.”
1.3 They searched throughout all the territory of Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her in to the king.
1.4 The girl was extremely beautiful, and she became the king’s nurse and waited on him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.
1.5 Meanwhile, Adonijah the son of Haggith was exalting himself, saying: “I am going to be king!” He had a chariot made for himself with horsemen and 50 men to run before him.
1.6 But his father had never confronted him by saying: “Why have you done this?” He was also very handsome, and his mother had given birth to him after Absalom.
1.7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest, and they offered Adonijah help and support.
1.8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty warriors did not support Adonijah.
1.9 Eventually Adonijah held a sacrifice of sheep, cattle, and fattened animals by the stone of Zoheleth, which is near En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants.
1.10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and the mighty warriors, or Solomon his brother.
1.11 Nathan then said to Bath-sheba, Solomon’s mother: “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know anything about it?
1.12 So now come, please, and let me advise you, so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
1.13 Go in to King David and say to him, ‘Was it not you, my lord the king, who swore to your servant, saying: “Your son Solomon will become king after me, and he is the one who will sit on my throne”? So why has Adonijah become king?’
1.14 While you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
1.15 So Bath-sheba went in to the king, into his private room. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on the king.
1.16 Then Bath-sheba bowed low and prostrated herself to the king, and the king said: “What is your request?”
1.17 She replied: “My lord, it was you who swore by Jehovah your God to your servant, ‘Your son Solomon will become king after me, and he is the one who will sit on my throne.’
1.18 But look! Adonijah has become king, and my lord the king does not know anything about it.
1.19 He sacrificed bulls, fattened animals, and sheep in great quantity and invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the chief of the army; but he did not invite your servant Solomon.
1.20 And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
1.21 Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his forefathers, I and also my son Solomon will be considered traitors.”
1.22 And while she was still speaking to the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
1.23 At once the king was told: “Here is Nathan the prophet!” He came in before the king and prostrated himself to the king with his face to the ground.
1.24 Then Nathan said: “My lord the king, did you say, ‘Adonijah will become king after me, and he is the one who will sit on my throne’?
1.25 For today he has gone down to sacrifice bulls, fattened animals, and sheep in great quantity, and he has invited all the sons of the king and the chiefs of the army and Abiathar the priest. They are there eating and drinking with him, and they keep saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
1.26 But he did not invite me, your servant, or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon.
1.27 Has my lord the king authorized this without telling your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
1.28 King David now answered: “Call Bath-sheba for me.” At that she came in and stood before the king.
1.29 The king then swore an oath: “As surely as Jehovah is living, the one who rescued me out of all distress,
1.30 just as I swore to you by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon will become king after me, and he is the one who will sit on my throne in my place!’ that is what I will bring about this day.”
1.31 Then Bath-sheba bowed low with her face to the ground and prostrated herself to the king and said: “May my lord King David live forever!”
1.32 Immediately King David said: “Call for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came in before the king.
1.33 The king said to them: “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and lead him down to Gihon.
1.34 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint him there as king over Israel; then blow the horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
1.35 Then follow him back, and he will come in and sit on my throne; and he will be king in my place, and I will commission him as leader over Israel and over Judah.”
1.36 At once Benaiah the son of Jehoiada said to the king: “Amen! May Jehovah the God of my lord the king confirm it.
1.37 Just as Jehovah was with my lord the king, so let him be with Solomon, and may He make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
1.38 Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on the mule of King David, and they brought him to Gihon.
1.39 Zadok the priest now took the horn of oil out of the tent and anointed Solomon, and they began to blow the horn, and all the people began shouting: “Long live King Solomon!”
1.40 After that all the people followed him and went up, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the earth was split open by their noise.
1.41 Adonijah and all those invited by him heard it when they had finished eating. As soon as Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said: “Why is there such a noisy uproar in the city?”
1.42 While he was still speaking, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said: “Come in, for you are a good man, and you must bring good news.”
1.43 But Jonathan answered Adonijah: “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king.
1.44 The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they had him ride on the mule of the king.
1.45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him as king in Gihon. After that they came up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That was the noise that you heard.
1.46 Moreover, Solomon has sat down on the royal throne.
1.47 Another thing, the servants of the king have come in to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more splendid than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne!’ At that the king bowed down on the bed.
1.48 And the king also said, ‘May Jehovah the God of Israel be praised, who today has granted someone to sit on my throne and has allowed my own eyes to see it!’”
1.49 And all those invited by Adonijah became terrified, and each of them rose up and went his own way.
1.50 Adonijah was also afraid because of Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.
1.51 The report was made to Solomon: “Here Adonijah has become afraid of King Solomon; and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not put his servant to death by the sword.’”
1.52 To this Solomon said: “If he behaves in a worthy manner, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground; but if what is bad is found in him, he will have to die.”
1.53 So King Solomon sent for him to be brought down from the altar. Then he came in and bowed down to King Solomon, after which Solomon said to him: “Go to your own house.”

2.1 When the time of David’s death drew near, he gave his son Solomon these instructions:
2.2 “I am about to die. Therefore, be strong and prove yourself a man.
2.3 You must keep your obligation to Jehovah your God by walking in his ways and by observing his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his reminders as they are written in the Law of Moses; then you will succeed in everything you do and everywhere you turn.
2.4 And Jehovah will carry out his promise that he made concerning me: ‘If your sons pay attention to their way by walking faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, there will never fail to be a man of your line sitting on the throne of Israel.’
2.5 “You also well know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to two chiefs of the armies of Israel—Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether. He killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, and he put the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.
2.6 You must act according to your wisdom and not let his gray hairs go down in peace to the Grave.
2.7 “But toward the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, you should show loyal love, and they should be among those eating at your table, for that was how they stood by me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
2.8 “There is also with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjaminite from Bahurim. He was the one who cursed me with a vicious curse on the day that I was going to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by Jehovah: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’
2.9 Now do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man and you know what you should do to him; you must bring his gray hairs down to the Grave with blood.”
2.10 Then David was laid to rest with his forefathers and was buried in the City of David.
2.11 The length of David’s reign over Israel was 40 years. In Hebron he reigned for 7 years, and in Jerusalem he reigned for 33 years.
2.12 Solomon then sat down on the throne of David his father, and gradually his kingship became firmly established.
2.13 In time Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked: “Is your coming peaceable?” He replied: “It is peaceable.”
2.14 He then said: “I have something to say to you.” So she said: “Speak.”
2.15 He continued: “You well know that the kingship was to become mine, and all Israel expected me to become king; but the kingship eluded me and became my brother’s, for it was from Jehovah that it became his.
2.16 But now there is just one request that I am making of you. Do not turn me away.” So she said to him: “Speak.”
2.17 He then said: “Please, ask Solomon the king—for he will not turn you away—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
2.18 To this Bath-sheba said: “Very well! I will speak for you to the king.”
2.19 So Bath-sheba went in to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. At once the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother, so that she could sit at his right.
2.20 She then said: “There is one small request that I am making of you. Do not turn me away.” So the king said to her: “Make it, my mother; for I will not turn you away.”
2.21 She said: “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given as a wife to your brother Adonijah.”
2.22 At this King Solomon answered his mother: “Why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You may as well request the kingship for him, for he is my older brother, and supporting him are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
2.23 With that King Solomon swore by Jehovah: “So may God do to me and add to it if it was not at the cost of his own life that Adonijah made this request.
2.24 And now, as surely as Jehovah is living, who has firmly established me and seated me on the throne of David my father and who made a house for me, just as he promised, Adonijah will be put to death today.”
2.25 King Solomon immediately sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who went out and struck Adonijah down, and he died.
2.26 To Abiathar the priest, the king said: “Go to your fields in Anathoth! You deserve to die, but on this day I will not put you to death because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah before David my father and because you shared in all the hardships that my father suffered.”
2.27 So Solomon drove Abiathar out from serving as a priest of Jehovah, to fulfill Jehovah’s word against the house of Eli in Shiloh.
2.28 When the news reached Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah but he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.
2.29 Then King Solomon was told: “Joab has fled to the tent of Jehovah, and he is there beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying: “Go, strike him down!”
2.30 So Benaiah went to the tent of Jehovah and said to him: “This is what the king says, ‘Come out!’” But he said: “No! I will die here.” Benaiah brought word back to the king: “This is what Joab said, and this is what he answered me.”
2.31 Then the king said to him: “Do just as he said; strike him down and bury him and remove from me and from the house of my father the blood that Joab spilled without just cause.
2.32 Jehovah will bring his blood back on his own head, for without my father David’s knowledge, he struck down and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than he was: Abner the son of Ner, the chief of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the chief of the army of Judah.
2.33 Their blood will come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring forever; but for David, his offspring, his house, and his throne, may there be peace from Jehovah forever.”
2.34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck Joab down and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.
2.35 Then the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.
2.36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him: “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there; do not go out from there to any other place.
2.37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure that you will die. Your blood will be on your own head.”
2.38 Shimei replied to the king: “What you have said is fair. Your servant will do just as my lord the king has said.” So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for many days.
2.39 But at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish the son of Maacah the king of Gath. When Shimei was told: “Look! Your slaves are in Gath,”
2.40 Shimei immediately saddled his donkey and went to see Achish in Gath to find his slaves. When Shimei returned from Gath with his slaves,
2.41 Solomon was told: “Shimei has gone out of Jerusalem to Gath and has returned.”
2.42 At that the king summoned Shimei and said to him: “Did I not put you under oath by Jehovah and warn you: ‘On the day you go out from here to any other place, you can be sure that you will die’? And did you not say to me, ‘What you are saying is fair; I will obey’?
2.43 Why, then, did you not keep the oath of Jehovah and the commandment that I imposed on you?”
2.44 The king then said to Shimei: “You know in your heart all the injury that you did to David my father, and Jehovah will bring back that injury on your own head.
2.45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David will be firmly established before Jehovah forever.”
2.46 With that the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.