1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
1:1-4
1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
2Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
They found a fair damsel named Abishag, who cherished the king and ministered to him.
4And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
But the king didn't have sex with her.
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
Adonijah said, "I will be king." [1]
And he prepared fifty men with chariots and horsemen.
6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
David didn't seem to mind the idea.
Adonijah was, after all, a very good-looking man.
7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
Joab and Abiathar supported Adonijah in his quest to become king.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
But Zadok, Nathan, and David's mighty men opposed Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
Adonijah called all of his brothers and the men of Judah to a meeting.
10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
But he didn't invite Nathan, the mighty men, or his brother Solomon.
1:11-53
11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
Nathan said to Bathsheba,
Haven't you heard that Adonijah is king, and David doesn't even know it?
12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
Here's how to save you and your son Solomon's lives.
13 Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
Go to David and say to him,
Didn't you swear to me that Solomon would be king after you?Why then is Adonijah king?
14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
After you're done talking to David, I'll come in and confirm what you said.
15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
When she arrived, Abishag was ministering to him.
(That must have been awkward.)
16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
What do you want?
17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
You swore to God that my son Solomon would be king after you.
18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:
But Adonijah is king, and you don't even know about it.
19 And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.
Adonijah has called a meeting with all your sons, along with Abiathar and Joab.But he didn't invite Solomon.
20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Everyone in Israel is waiting for you to tell them who the next king will be.
21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
If you don't do so, Solomon and I will be called traitors.
22 And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23 And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
Did you say that Adonijah will be king after you?
25 For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.
Because he's calling your sons, your captains, and Abiathar to a gathering where he plans to be made king.
26 But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
But he didn't invite me, Zadok, Benaiah, or Solomon.
27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
29 And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
Is this what you want to happen?If so, why didn't you tell me?
30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
I swear to God that Solomon will be king after me.
32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
Put Solomon on a mule that will carry him to Gihon.
34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
37 As the LORD 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.
When Solomon's mule arrives in Gihon, have Zadok and Nathan anoint him king of Israel.Then blow a trumpet and say,
God save king Solomon.
38 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.
39And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
God save king Solomon.
40And 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.
41 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?
42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
What was that?
43 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 heard.
46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, 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.
48 And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
David has made Solomon king.
They even made him ride on David's mule!
49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
Each left going his own way.
50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
I won't let go until king Solomon swears he won't kill me.
52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
If he's worthy, I won't kill him.But if he's wicked, I will.
53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
So Adonijah let go of the horns and came to visit Solomon.
Solomon said to him, "Go home."
Adonijah was David's fourth (or fifth) son (depending on what you make of the Chileab / Daniel thing). He may have been the oldest surviving son of David and, therefore, had a legitimate claim to the throne.
Here's a list Adonijah's older half-brothers, who were also sons of David. (They all had different mothers.)
