Now king Dawud was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with blankets, but he could not keep warm. 2Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be found for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm. 3So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4The young woman was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king did not know her intimately. 5Then Adonijah Ibn Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6His father had not rebuked him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? He was also a very handsome man and was born next after Absalom. 7He conferred with Joab Ibn Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they gave Adonijah their support. 8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to Dawud, were not with Adonijah. 9Adonijah killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants: 10but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Sulayman his brother, he did not call. 11Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Sulayman, saying, Haven’t you heard that Adonijah Ibn Haggith reigns, and Dawud our lord does not know it? 12Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and the life of your son Sulayman. 13Go and see king Dawud, and tell him, Didn’t you, my lord king, swear to your servant, saying, Certainly Sulayman your son shall reign after me and sit on my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign? 14Behold, while you yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words. 15Bathsheba went in to the king into the bedroom: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king. 16Bathsheba bowed and knelt before the king. The king said, What is your wish? 17She said to him, My lord, you swore by Allah your God to your servant, saying, Certainly Sulayman your son shall reign after me and sit on my throne. 18Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, do not know it: 19and he has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn’t called Sulayman your servant. 20You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Sulayman shall be treated as criminals. 22While she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. 23They told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. When he came in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24Nathan said, My lord king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me and sit on my throne? 25For he has gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, Long live king Adonijah. 26But he hasn’t called me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, and your servant Sulayman. 27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven’t shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? 28Then king Dawud answered, Call Bathsheba to me. She came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. 29The king swore, and said, As Allah lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, 30most assuredly as I swore to you by Allah, the God of Israel, saying, Certainly Sulayman your son shall reign after me and sit on my throne in my place; most certainly so will I do this day. 31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and knelt before the king, and said, Let my lord king Dawud live forever. 32King Dawud said, Call Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada. They came before the king. 33The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Sulayman my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow the trumpet, and say, Long live king Sulayman. 35Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place; and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah. 36Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: Allah, the God of my lord the king, say so too. 37As Allah has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Sulayman, and make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord king Dawud. 38So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Sulayman to ride on king Dawud’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. 39Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Sulayman. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live king Sulayman. 40All the people came up after him, and the people played flutes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with the sound of them. 41Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is the city in such a noisy uproar? 42While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan IbnAbiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a worthy man, and bring good news. 43Jonathan answered Adonijah, Most assuredly our lord king Dawud has made Sulayman king: 44and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule; 45and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; and they have come up from there rejoicing, and the city resounds with it. This is the noise that you have heard. 46Also Sulayman sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47Moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king Dawud, saying, Your God make the name of Sulayman better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed. 48Also the king said, Praise be to Allah, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it. 49All the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. 50Adonijah feared because of Sulayman; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 51It was told Sulayman, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Sulayman; for, behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Sulayman swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword. 52Sulayman 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. 53So king Sulayman sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and fell down before king Sulayman; and Sulayman said to him, Go to your house.