Introducing... King Solomon

(1) King David was now old, advanced in years; and though they covered him with bedclothes, he never felt warm. (2) His courtiers said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, to wait upon Your Majesty and be his attendant; and let her lie in your bosom, and my lord the king will be warm.” (3) So they looked for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel. They found Avishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. (4) The girl was exceedingly beautiful. She became the king’s attendant and waited upon him; but the king was not intimate with her. (5) Now Adoniyah son of Chaggit went about boasting, “I will be king!” He provided himself with chariots and horses, and an escort of fifty outrunners. (6) His father had never scolded him: “Why did you do that?” He was the one born after Avshalom and, like him, was very handsome. (7) He conferred with Yoav son of Zeruiah and with the priest Aviatar, and they supported Adoniyah; (8) but the priest Tzadok, Benaiah son of Yehoiada, the prophet Nathan, Shimei and Rei, and David’s own fighting men did not side with Adoniyah. (9) Adoniyah made a sacrificial feast of sheep, oxen, and fatlings at the Zoheleth stone which is near En-rogel; he invited all his brother princes and all the king’s courtiers of the tribe of Judah; (10) but he did not invite the prophet Nathan, or Benaiah, or the fighting men, or his brother Solomon.

(11) Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “You must have heard that Adoniyah son of Chaggit has assumed the kingship without the knowledge of our lord David. (12) Now take my advice, so that you may save your life and the life of your son Solomon. (13) Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did not you, O lord king, swear to your maidservant: “Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit upon my throne”? Then why has Adoniyah become king?’ (14) While you are still there talking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.” (15) So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber.—The king was very old, and Avishag the Shunammite was waiting on the king.— (16) Bathsheba bowed low in homage to the king; and the king asked, “What troubles you?” (17) She answered him, “My lord, you yourself swore to your maidservant by Adonai your God: ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit upon my throne.’ (18) Yet now Adoniyah has become king, and you, my lord the king, know nothing about it. (19) He has prepared a sacrificial feast of a great many oxen, fatlings, and sheep, and he has invited all the king’s sons and Aviatar the priest and Yoav commander of the army; but he has not invited your servant Solomon. (20) And so the eyes of all Israel are upon you, O lord king, to tell them who shall succeed my lord the king on the throne. (21) Otherwise, when my lord the king lies down with his fathers, my son Solomon and I will be regarded as traitors.” (22) She was still talking to the king when the prophet Nathan arrived. (23) They announced to the king, “The prophet Nathan is here,” and he entered the king’s presence. Bowing low to the king with his face to the ground, (24) Nathan said, “O lord king, you must have said, ‘Adoniyah shall succeed me as king and he shall sit upon my throne.’ (25) For he has gone down today and prepared a sacrificial feast of a great many oxen, fatlings, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons and the army officers and Aviatar the priest. At this very moment they are eating and drinking with him, and they are shouting, ‘Long live King Adoniyah!’ (26) But he did not invite me your servant, or the priest Zadok, or Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. (27) Can this decision have come from my lord the king, without your telling your servant who is to succeed to the throne of my lord the king?” (28) King David’s response was: “Summon Bathsheba!” She entered the king’s presence and stood before the king. (29) And the king took an oath, saying, “As Adonai lives, who has rescued me from every trouble: (30) The oath I swore to you by Adonai, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon should succeed me as king and that he should sit upon my throne in my stead, I will fulfil this very day!” (31) Bathsheba bowed low in homage to the king with her face to the ground, and she said, “May my lord King David live forever!”...

(41) Adoniyah and all the guests who were with him, who had just finished eating, heard it. When Yoav heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such an uproar?” (42) He was still speaking when the priest Jonathan son of Aviatar arrived. “Come in,” said Adoniyah. “You are a worthy man, and you surely bring good news.” (43) But Jonathan replied to Adoniyah, “Alas, our lord King David has made Solomon king! (44) The king sent with him the priest Tzadok and the prophet Nathan and Benaiyah son of Yehoiada, and the Cheretites and Peletites. They had him ride on the king’s mule, (45) and the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan anointed him king at Gihon. Then they came up from there making merry, and the city went into an uproar. That’s the noise you heard. (46) Further, Solomon seated himself on the royal throne; (47) further, the king’s courtiers came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the renown of Solomon even greater than yours, and may God exalt his throne even higher than yours!’ And the king bowed low on his couch. (48) And further, this is what the king said, ‘Praised be Adonai, the God of Israel who has this day provided a successor to my throne, while my own eyes can see it.’” (49) Thereupon, all of Adoniyah’s guests rose in alarm and each went his own way. (50) Adoniyah, in fear of Solomon, went at once [to the Tent] and grasped the horns of the altar. (51) It was reported to Solomon: “Adoniyah is in fear of King Solomon and has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not put his servant to the sword.’” (52) Solomon said, “If he behaves worthily, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground; but if he is caught in any offense, he shall die.” (53) So King Solomon sent and had him taken down from the altar. He came and bowed before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go home.”

(1) When David’s life was drawing to a close, he instructed his son Solomon as follows: (2) “I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man. (3) Keep the charge of Adonai your God, walking in God's ways and following God's laws, commandments, rules, and admonitions as recorded in the Teaching of Moses, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. (4) Then Adonai will fulfill the promise made concerning me: ‘If your descendants are scrupulous in their conduct, and walk before Me faithfully, with all their heart and soul, your line on the throne of Israel shall never end!’ (5) “Further, you know what Yoav son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s forces, Avner son of Ner and Amasa son of Yeter: he killed them, shedding blood of war in peacetime, staining the girdle of his loins and the sandals on his feet with blood of war. (6) So act in accordance with your wisdom, and see that his white hair does not go down to Sheol in peace. (7) “But deal graciously with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, for they befriended me when I fled from your brother Avshalom; let them be among those that eat at your table. (8) “You must also deal with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim. He insulted me outrageously when I was on my way to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Adonai: ‘I will not put you to the sword.’ (9) So do not let him go unpunished; for you are a wise man and you will know how to deal with him and send his gray hair down to Sheol in blood.” (10) So David slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David. (11) The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. (12) And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

(13) Adoniyah son of Chaggit came to see Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes,” he replied; (14) and he continued, “I would like to have a word with you.” “Speak up,” she said. (15) Then he said, “You know that the kingship was rightly mine and that all Israel wanted me to reign. But the kingship passed on to my brother; it came to him by the will of Adonai. (16) And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said, “Speak up.” (17) He replied, “Please ask King Solomon—for he won’t refuse you—to give me Avishag the Shunammite as wife.” (18) “Very well,” said Bathsheba, “I will speak to the king in your behalf.” (19) So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adoniyah. The king rose to greet her and bowed down to her. He sat on his throne; and he had a throne placed for the queen mother, and she sat on his right. (20) She said, “I have one small request to make of you, do not refuse me.” He responded, “Ask, Mother; I shall not refuse you.” (21) Then she said, “Let Avishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adoniyah as wife.” (22) The king replied to his mother, “Why request Avishag the Shunammite for Adoniyah? Request the kingship for him! For he is my older brother, and the priest Aviatar and Yoav son of Zeruiah are on his side.” (23) Thereupon, King Solomon swore by God, saying, “So may God do to me and even more, if broaching this matter does not cost Adoniyah his life! (24) Now, as Adonai lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of my father David and who has provided him with a house, as he promised, Adoniyah shall be put to death this very day!” (25) And Solomon instructed Benaiah son of Yehoiada, who struck Adoniyah down; and so he died.

(1) Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David [to live there] until he had finished building his palace, and the House of Adonai, and the walls around Jerusalem. (2) The people, however, continued to offer sacrifices at the open shrines, because up to that time no house had been built for the name of Adonai. (3) And Solomon, though he loved Adonai and followed the practices of his father David, also sacrificed and offered at the shrines. (4) The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the largest shrine; on that altar Solomon presented a thousand burnt offerings. (5) At Gibeon Adonai appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask, what shall I grant you?” (6) Solomon said, “You dealt most graciously with Your servant my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and in integrity of heart. You have continued this great kindness to him by giving him a son to occupy his throne, as is now the case. (7) And now, O Adonai my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David; but I am a young lad, with no experience in leadership. (8) Your servant finds himself in the midst of the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted. (9) Grant, then, Your servant an understanding mind to judge Your people, to distinguish between good and bad; for who can judge this vast people of Yours?” (10) God was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. (11) And God said to him, “Because you asked for this—you did not ask for long life, you did not ask for riches, you did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for discernment in dispensing justice— (12) I now do as you have spoken. I grant you a wise and discerning mind; there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you arise again. (13) And I also grant you what you did not ask for—both riches and glory all your life—the like of which no king has ever had. (14) And I will further grant you long life, if you will walk in My ways and observe My laws and commandments, as did your father David.” (15) Then Solomon awoke: it was a dream! He went to Jerusalem, stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented offerings of well-being; and he made a banquet for all his courtiers.

(9) God endowed Solomon with wisdom and discernment in great measure, with understanding as vast as the sands on the seashore. (10) Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the Kedemites and than all the wisdom of the Egyptians. (11) He was the wisest of all men: [wiser] than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalkol, and Darda the sons of Mahol. His fame spread among all the surrounding nations. (12) He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand and five. (13) He discoursed about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; and he discoursed about beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes. (14) Men of all peoples came to hear Solomon’s wisdom, [sent] by all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

(7) David said to Solomon, “My son, I wanted to build a House for the name of Adonai my God. (8) But the word of the Adonai came to me, saying,‘You have shed much blood and fought great battles; you shall not build a House for My name for you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. (9) But you will have a son who will be a man at rest, for I will give him rest from all his enemies on all sides; Solomon will be his name and I shall confer peace and quiet on Israel in his time. (10) He will build a House for My name; he shall be a son to Me and I to him a father, and I will establish his throne of kingship over Israel forever.’ (11) Now, my son, may Adonai be with you, and may you succeed in building the House of the Adonai your God as He promised you would.

(1) The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father; A dull son is his mother’s sorrow. (2) Ill-gotten wealth is of no avail, But righteousness saves from death. (3) Adonai will not let the righteous go hungry, But He denies the wicked what they crave. (4) Negligent hands cause poverty, But diligent hands enrich. (5) He who lays in stores during the summer is a capable son, But he who sleeps during the harvest is an incompetent. (6) Blessings light upon the head of the righteous, But lawlessness covers the mouth of the wicked. (7) The name of the righteous is invoked in blessing, But the fame of the wicked rots. (8) He whose heart is wise accepts commands, But he whose speech is foolish comes to grief. (9) He who lives blamelessly lives safely, But he who walks a crooked path will be found out.

(1) The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem. (2) Utter futility!—said Koheleth— Utter futility! All is futile! (3) What real value is there for a person In all the gains they make beneath the sun? (4) One generation goes, another comes, But the earth remains the same forever.

(15) King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend of David. (16) Solomon sent this message to Hiram: (17) “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of Adonai his God because of the enemies that encompassed him, until Adonai had placed them under the soles of his feet. (18) But now Adonai my God has given me respite all around; there is no adversary and no mischance. (19) And so I propose to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, as Adonai promised my father David, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for My name.’ (20) Please, then, give orders for cedars to be cut for me in the Lebanon. My servants will work with yours, and I will pay you any wages you may ask for your servants; for as you know, there is none among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” (21) When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was overjoyed. “Praised be Adonai this day,” he said, “for granting David a wise son to govern this great people.” (22) So Hiram sent word to Solomon: “I have your message; I will supply all the cedar and cypress logs you require. (23) My servants will bring them down to the sea from the Lebanon; and at the sea I will make them into floats and [deliver them] to any place that you designate to me. There I shall break them up for you to carry away. You, in turn, will supply the food I require for my household.” (24) So Hiram kept Solomon provided with all the cedar and cypress wood he required, (25) and Solomon delivered to Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as provisions for his household and 20 kors of beaten oil. Such was Solomon’s annual payment to Hiram. (26) Adonai had given Solomon wisdom, as promised. There was friendship between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. (27) King Solomon imposed forced labor on all Israel; the levy came to 30,000 men. (28) He sent them to the Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 a month: they would spend one month in the Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. (29) Solomon also had 70,000 porters and 80,000 quarriers in the hills, (30) apart from Solomon’s 3,300 officials who were in charge of the work and supervised the gangs doing the work. (31) The king ordered huge blocks of choice stone to be quarried, so that the foundations of the house might be laid with hewn stones.

(1) Then Solomon convoked the elders of Israel—all the heads of the tribes and the ancestral chieftains of the Israelites—before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai from the City of David, that is, Zion. (2) All the men of Israel gathered before King Solomon at the Feast, in the month of Ethanim—that is, the seventh month. (3) When all the elders of Israel had come, the priests lifted the Ark (4) and carried up the Ark of Adonai. Then the priests and the Levites brought the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. (5) Meanwhile, King Solomon and the whole community of Israel, who were assembled with him before the Ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen in such abundance that they could not be numbered or counted. (6) The priests brought the Ark of Adonai's Covenant to its place underneath the wings of the cherubim, in the Shrine of the House, in the Holy of Holies; (7) for the cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark, so that the cherubim shielded the Ark and its poles from above. (8) The poles projected so that the ends of the poles were visible in the sanctuary in front of the Shrine, but they could not be seen outside; and there they remain to this day. (9) There was nothing inside the Ark but the two tablets of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Adonai made [a covenant] with the Israelites after their departure from the land of Egypt. (10) When the priests came out of the sanctuary—for the cloud had filled the House of Adonai (11) and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of Adonai filled the House of Adonai— (12) then Solomon declared: “Adonai has chosen To abide in a thick cloud: (13) I have now built for You A stately House, A place where You May dwell forever.” (14) Then, with the whole congregation of Israel standing, the king faced about and blessed the whole congregation of Israel.

(1) The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, through the name of Adonai, and she came to test him with hard questions. (2) She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels bearing spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she asked him all that she had in mind. (3) Solomon had answers for all her questions; there was nothing that the king did not know, [nothing] to which he could not give her an answer. (4) When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, and the palace he had built, (5) the fare of his table, the seating of his courtiers, the service and attire of his attendants, and his wine service, and the burnt offerings that he offered at the House of Adonai, she was left breathless. (6) She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own land about you and your wisdom was true. (7) But I did not believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes that not even the half had been told me; your wisdom and wealth surpass the reports that I heard. (8) How fortunate are your men and how fortunate are these your courtiers, who are always in attendance on you and can hear your wisdom! (9) Praised be Adonai your God, who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. It is because of Adonai's everlasting love for Israel that God made you king to administer justice and righteousness.” (10) She presented the king with one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a vast quantity of spices arrive as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.—

(1) King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Phoenician, and Hittite women, (2) from the nations of which Adonai had said to the Israelites, “None of you shall join them and none of them shall join you, lest they turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Such Solomon clung to and loved. (3) He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. (4) In his old age, his wives turned away Solomon’s heart after other gods, and he was not as wholeheartedly devoted to Adonai his God as his father David had been. (5) Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Phoenicians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (6) Solomon did what was displeasing to Adonai and did not remain loyal to Adonai like his father David. (7) At that time, Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh the abomination of Moab on the hill near Jerusalem, and one for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. (8) And he did the same for all his foreign wives who offered and sacrificed to their gods. (9) Adonai was angry with Solomon, because his heart turned away from Adonai, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice (10) and had commanded him about this matter, not to follow other gods; he did not obey what Adonai had commanded. (11) And Adonai said to Solomon, “Because you are guilty of this—you have not kept My covenant and the laws which I enjoined upon you—I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. (12) But, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it away from your son. (13) However, I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give your son one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”