all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth 41 rent with the sound of them. 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 (42 city being in an uproar? While he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came and Adonijah said, Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and bringest good 43 tidings. And Jonathan answered

and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath 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: 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 46 heard. And also Solomon sitteth 47 on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying,

Thy 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 48 bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even 49 seeing it. And all the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and 50 went every man his way. And Ado

nijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold 51 on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath 'laid' hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me this day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. (52 And Solomon said, If he 'shall shew himself a worthy man, there shall not Jan hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness be found in him, he 53 shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

O

1 Another reading omits Thy. * Or, first of all\

21

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged 2 Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong there3 fore, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and his testimonies, laccording to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4 that the LORD may establish' his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) 5 a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and 'shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that 6 were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in 7 peace. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled 8 from Absalom thy brother.

And,

behold, 'there is! with thee Shimei the son of Gera, 'the' Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee 9) to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, land' thou shalt bring his hoar head 10 down to the grave with blood. And David slept with his fathers, and was 11 buried in the city of David. And the

days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. 12) And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom 13 was established greatly. Then' Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon.

..a..

And she said, Comest thou peaceably? 14 And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. 15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: 16 for it was his from the LORD. And

now I ask one petition of thee, 1deny me not. And she said unto him, 17 Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to 18 wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. 19 Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right 20 hand. Then she said, I ask one small petition of thee; 'deny' me not. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not deny thee. 21 °And she said, Let Abishag the Shu

nammite be given to Adonijah thy 22 brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the 23 son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his 24 own life. Now therefore as the LORD

liveth, 'who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me lan house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and 26 he fell upon him, that he died. And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for, thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou wast! afflicted in all 27 wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from

1 Heb. turn not away my face.

being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house 28 of Eli in Shiloh. And the tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the Tent of the LORD, and caught (29 hold on the horns of the altar. °And it was told king Solomon, Joab lis! fled unto the Tent of the LORD, and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30 And Benaiah came to the Tent' of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he 31) answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause', from me 32 and from my father's house. ° And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, land' my father David knew it not, to wit, Ábner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of 33) Judah. So' shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but lunto! David, and unto his seed, and 'unto his house, and 'unto' his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada

went up, and fell upon him, and slew him; and he was buried in his own 35 house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room 36 of Abiathar. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth (37) thence any whither. For on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood 38 shall be upon thine own head. °And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

:

3 See 1 Sam. ii. 27-36.

39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy serv40 ants be in Gath. And Shimei arose,

and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants 41 from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem (42) to Gath, and was come again.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The 'saying that I have heard is 43 good. Why then hast thou not kept

the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee 44 with? The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wicked45 ness upon thine own head. But! king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be estab46 lished before the LORD for ever. °So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

31

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall 2 of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in 'the' high places, because there was no house built 'for' the name of the LORD until those days. 3 °And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

4

1And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 °And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great

kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his 7 throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered (9) nor counted for multitude. Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil'; for who is able to judge this thy great 10 people? And the speech pleased

the Lord, that Solomon had asked 11 this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgement; 12 behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been! none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise 13 like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee, all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, 15 then I will lengthen thy days. °And

16

Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood 17 before him. And the one woman said, Oh my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the (18 house. And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save 19 we two in the house. And this

5 Heb. hear.

6 Or, hath not been

III. 2 unto; 4 up on; в mercy; 9 bad

woman's child died in the night; be20 cause she overlaid it. And she Jarose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my 22 son, which I did bear. And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they 23 spake before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Fetch me a

sword. And they brought a sword 25 before the king. And the king said,

Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the (26 other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, Oh my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, It shall be neither 27 mine nor thine; divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: 28 she is the mother thereof. And

all Israel heard of the judgement which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgement.

41 And king Solomon was king over 2 all Israel. And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the 3 son of Zadok, 'the priest; °Elihoreph and Ahijah', the sons of Shisha, 2scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of (4 Ahilud, the recorder; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was "priest', and the king's 6 friend; and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son 7) of Abda was over the levy'. And

Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man had to make provision 'for al 8 month in 'the year. And these are their names: Beni-hur', in the hill 9 country of Ephraim: Ben'-'deker', in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth; to him pertained Socoh, and all the land of 11 Hepher: Ben-abinadab, in all the

height of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, 'in' Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan', beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, 'as far as beyond 'Jokmeam': 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; leven to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and 14 brasen bars: Ahinadab the son of (15 Iddo, in Mahanaim: Ahimaaz, in

Naphtali; he also took Basemath' the daughter of Solomon to wife: (16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher 17 and 10 Bealoth': Jehoshaphat the son 18 of Paruah, in Issachar: Shimei the (19 son of Ela, in Benjamin: Geber the

son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; land he was the only officer which 20 was in the land. Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.

21

12 18 And Solomon ruled over all 'the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days 22 of his life. And Solomon's provision

for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures 23) of meal; °ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and Igazelles, and roebucks, and fatted 24 fowl. For he had dominion over all the region 15on this side the River,

from Tiphsah even to 'Gaza', over all the kings 1on this side the River: and he had peace on all sides round 25 about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days 26 of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they let nothing 28 be lacking. Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds! brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

29

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the (30 sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, 31 and all the wisdom of Egypt. For

he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations 32 round about. And he spake three

thousand proverbs: and his songs (33 were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and 34 of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all peoples' to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

51 66And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2 °And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build 'an' house for the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under *(4 the soles of his feet. But now the

LORD my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, 5 nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build 'an' house for the

1 Or, beyond the River

* Some authorities read, with all his

servants.

* In 2 Chr. ix. 25, four thousand.

name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall (6) build the house 'for' my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the 1 'Zidonians'. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise 8 son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have 'heard' the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and con9 cerning timber of 'fir. "My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will 'make' them linto rafts to go' by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be 'broken up there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in 10 giving food for my household. "So

13

"Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according 11 to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand 10measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty 14 thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were' hewers (16) in the mountains; besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which bare rule over the people 17 that wrought in the work. And the 7 Or, lcypress!

&c.

8 Or, carry them \away| Heb. Hirom, and in ver. 18. 10 Heb. cor. 11 Or, beaten