he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah." And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, "Amen: Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, say so too. As Jehovah 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."

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. And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, "Long live king Solomon!" 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.

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?" 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 tidings." And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king: 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; 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. And also

And

Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. 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 bed. And also thus said the king, 'Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.""

And all the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold 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 first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.'" And Solomon said, "If he shall show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he 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 thy house."

LXXII

DAVID'S FAREWELL TO SOLOMON

(I Kings ii:1-12)

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies,

according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; that Jehovah 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) 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 were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. But show 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 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 the Jordan, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, ‘I will not put thee 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, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood."

And David slept with his fathers, and was 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. And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

LXXIII

SOLOMON'S DREAM AND HIS CHOICE OF WISDOM

(I Kings iii: 3-15)

And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.1

And 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. In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give thee." And Solomon said, "Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great lovingkindness, 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 lovingkindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Jehovah 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. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered 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 people?"

And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked 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 under

1. See note on page 205.

standing to discern justice; 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 like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee, all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

LXXIV

SOLOMON PROVES HIS WISDOM

(I Kings iii:16–28; iv: 29–34)

Then there came two women ... unto the king, and stood 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 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 we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night, because she lay upon it. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear." And the other woman said, "Nay; but the living