King David chooses Solomon to be king
28 King David answered Nathan, ‘Send Bathsheba to me!’ So Bathsheba came and she stood in front of the king. 29 Then the king made a strong promise. He said, ‘The Lord has saved me from every kind of trouble. I promise this, as surely as the Lord lives! 30 I will certainly do what I already promised to you in the name of the Lord, Israel's God. Your son Solomon will become king after me. He will sit on my throne to rule.’
31 Then Bathsheba bent down low with her face towards the ground. She said, ‘I pray that my master King David will live for ever!’
32 King David said, ‘Send to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Jehoiada's son Benaiah.’ So they came to the king. 33 The king said to them, ‘Take my officers with you and put my son Solomon on my own mule. Then lead him down to Gihon, as he rides on the mule. 34 There, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet can anoint him to be king over Israel. Make a loud noise with a trumpet and shout, “May King Solomon live for a long time!” 35 After that, you must follow him back here. He will sit on my throne as king instead of me. I have chosen him to be ruler over all Israel and Judah.’
36 Jehoiada's son Benaiah answered the king, ‘Amen! I agree! I pray that the Lord will cause it to happen! He is the God that my master the king serves. 37 The Lord has helped you, my master the king. We pray that he will also be with Solomon. We pray that he will make Solomon's kingdom even greater than the kingdom of my master, King David!’
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Jehoiada's son Benaiah went to Solomon. David's own personal guards, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, went with them. They put Solomon on King David's mule and they led him to Gihon.
39 Zadok the priest filled a horn with special olive oil from the holy tent. Then he poured it on Solomon to anoint him as king. Then they made a loud noise with a trumpet. All the people shouted, ‘May King Solomon live for a long time!’ 40 Then all the people followed Solomon up into Jerusalem. They made music with flutes and they shouted with joy. The noise caused the ground to shake!
41 Adonijah and all the people who were with him heard the noise. They had just finished eating their feast together. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he asked, ‘Why is there all that noise in the city?’ 42 While Joab was still speaking, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, arrived. Adonijah said to him, ‘Come in! You are an honest man, so I am sure that you are bringing good news.’ 43 Jonathan replied to Adonijah, ‘No, it is not good news! Our master King David has made Solomon king! 44 He sent these people to put Solomon onto the king's mule: Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Jehoiada's son Benaiah, and the king's personal guards. They took Solomon to Gihon.
1:41Joab was the leader of Israel's army.
1:44David's personal guards (bodyguards) were men who belonged to the Kerethite and Pelethite people.
45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon at Gihon to become king. They have taken him from there into the city with happy shouts. People are shouting everywhere. That is the noise that you can hear. 46 So Solomon now sits on the king's throne. 47 The king's officers have told our master King David that he has done a good thing. They have said to him, “We pray that your God will make Solomon even more famous than you. We pray that his kingdom will be greater than your kingdom.” After they said that, the king bent his head down as he lay on his bed. 48 He said, “We should praise the Lord, Israel's God. He deserves this, because he has chosen one of my sons to become king after me. The Lord has let me see this happen.” ’
49 When all the people with Adonijah heard Jonathan's report, they were very afraid. They got up from the feast and they ran away in different directions. 50 But Adonijah was afraid of what Solomon would do to punish him. So he ran to the holy tent. He took hold of the horns of the altar there. 51 Someone told Solomon, ‘Adonijah is afraid of you. He has taken hold of the horns of the altar. He says, “I want King Solomon to promise me today that he will not punish me with death. I am his servant.” ’ 52 Solomon said, ‘If he serves me faithfully, I will not hurt him at all. But if he turns against me, he will die.’
1:50If someone took hold of the horns of the altar, he was safe from punishment.
53 Then King Solomon sent men to the holy tent to bring Adonijah down from the altar. So Adonijah came. He bent down low to respect King Solomon. Solomon said to him, ‘Go to your home.’
