and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say: Long 26 live the king, Adonijah. But me, me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy 27 servant, Solomon, has he not called. Is this thing done by my lord, the king, and thou hast not made known to thy servants, who shall sit on the throne of my lord, the king, after him?

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And king David answered and said: Call to me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the 29 king. And the king swore, and said: As Jehovah lives, who 30 has redeemed my soul out of all distress; even as I have sworn to thee by Jehovah God of Israel, saying: Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon 31 my throne in my stead; even so will I do this day. Then Bath-sheba bent down with her face to the earth, and bowed herself before the king, and said: Let my lord, king David, live forever.

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And king David said: Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And 33 they came in before the king. And the king said to them : Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to 34 Gihon. And let Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, there anoint him king over Israel; and blow ye the trumpet, 35 and say: Long live the king, Solomon. And ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead, and him I appoint to be prince 36 over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of

Jehoiada answered the king, and said: So be it! So say 37 Jehovah, God of my lord, the king! As Jehovah was with my lord, the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his 38 throne greater than the throne of my lord, king David. And Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the executioners, and the couriers, went down; and they caused Solomon to ride upon king David's 39 mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solo

mon.

And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said : 40 Long live the king, Solomon. And all the people came up

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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; and they had made an end of eating. And Joab heard the sound of the trumpet; and he said: Wherefore is this 42 noise of the tumultuous city? And while he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said to him: Come in; for thou art a brave man, and bringest good tidings. And Jonathan answered, and said to Adonijah: Nay, but our lord, king David, has 44 made Solomon king. And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the executioners, and the couriers, and they 45 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 have come up from thence rejoicing, and the city is in tumult. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. And also the king's servants came to bless our lord, king David, saying: God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and his throne greater than thy throne. And the 48 king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king: Blessed be Jehovah God of Israel, who has given one 49 to sit on my throne this day, my eyes beholding it. And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

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And Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, 51 and went and laid hold of the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying: Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon. And, lo! he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that 52 he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said: If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness shall be

53 found in him, he shall die. And king they brought him down from the altar. bowed himself down to king Solomon. to him: Go to thy house.

Solomon sent, and
And he came and
And Solomon said

1 AND the days of David drew near that he should die. And 2 he charged Solomon his son, saying: I go the way of all the 3 earth; and be thou strong, 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 judgments, and his testimonies, as is written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; that Jehovah may fulfill his word which he spoke 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, 5 said he, a man on the throne of Israel. And also thou knowest what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me; what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, 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. And do according to thy wisdom; and let not his hoary head go down to the grave in peace. And show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at thy table; for so they came to 8 me when I fled before Absalom thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. And he came down to meet me at the Jordan; and I swore to him by Jehovah, saying: I 9 will not put thee to death with the sword. And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou shouldst do to him; and his hoary head bring 10 thou down to the grave in blood. And David lay down 11 with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years.

12

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Seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty and three years he reigned in Jerusalem.

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

And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said: Comest thou peaceably? 14 And he said: Peaceably. And he said: I have somewhat 15 to say to thee. And she said: Say on. And he said: Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. And the kingdom is transferred, and is become my brother's; for it was his from 16 Jehovah. And now I make one request of thee; deny me 17 not. And she said to him: Say on. And he said: Speak,

I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he will not say thee. nay, that he give me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife. 18 And Bath-sheba said: Well; I will speak for thee to the king.

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And Bath-sheba came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on 20 his right hand. And she said: One small request I desire

of thee; say me not nay. And the king said to her: Ask, 21 my mother; for I will not say thee nay. And she said: Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy brother, 22 for a wife. And king Solomon answered and said to his mother: And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? And ask for him the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for 23 Joab the son of Zeruiah. And king Solomon swore by

Jehovah, saying: God do so to me, and more also, if Adoni24 jah have not spoken this word against his own life. And

now, as Jehovah lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house as he said, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him, that he died.

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And to Abiathar the priest said the king: Go to Anathoth, to thy fields. For thou art worthy of death; but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou hast borne the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27 And Solomon drove out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah; that he might fulfill the word of Jehovah, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

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And the report came to Joab,-for Joab had turned away after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom,—and Joab fled to the tabernacle of Jehovah, and laid hold of the 29 horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon, that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of Jehovah; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of 30 Jehoiada, saying: Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of Jehovah, and said to him, thus says the king: Go forth. And he said: Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying: Thus 31 said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said to

him: Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest put away the innocent blood, which Joab 32 shed, from me and from the house of my father. And Jehovah will return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof,-Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the 33 son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. And let their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed forever; and upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace 34 forever from Jehovah. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him. And he was 35 buried in his own house, in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the host. And Zadok the priest the king put in the place of Abiathar. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him: Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and

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