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of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? 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.

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? Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I will also come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

And Bath-sheba went in unto the king, in the chamber; and the king was very old.

And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king: and the king said, What wouldest thou? 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: And now behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now my lord the king, thou knowest it not.

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.

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,

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.

⚫ And lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

And they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the

prophet.

prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? 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.

But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.

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?

Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathseeba: and she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.

And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, 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 eertainly do this day.

Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

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..

The king also said unto them, Take you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

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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. 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.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD GOD of my lord the king say

so too.

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.

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.

And 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.

And 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.

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? 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.

And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,

and

and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule.

And Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, 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.

And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

And moreover, the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy naine, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king bowed himself upon the bed. 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.

And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

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 to day, that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth: but `if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

So king Solomon sent, and they brought Adonijah down from the altar: and he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

Solomon was a much younger man than Adonijah, who after Absalom's death was the eldest, and therefore, according

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according to the usual custom of other nations, he was heir to the crown; but as God himself had been the only king of the Israelites till Samuel's days, so when at the people's desire the form of government was changed, the LORD still reserved to himself the right of nominating the successor when the throne became vacant, as we read in the law of Moses: When thou art come into the land, which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, thou shalt by all means make him king whom the LORD shall chuse; so that when God had declared his appointment of Solomon (as he did by the prophet Nathan) David was not at liberty to make choice of any other; but we may suppose that all his other sons were jealous of this preference given to a younger brother, which made them so ready to join with Adonijah.

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At what time David sware to Bath-sheba that Solomon should sit on his throne is uncertain; but most likely, on Nathan's being sent to give Solomon a name, which denoted his being beloved of the LORD, David gave his mother a solemn promise, that since God had so manifestly declared in favour of this child, he would for his part do the utmost in his power to facilitate his succession.

All Adonijah's ambitious views were in an instant frustrated, and he found that it was in vain to oppose the will of the LORD, though he had prevailed on Joab the general of the forces, and Abiathar the high-priest, to espouse his cause. How it came to pass that they proceeded in such an important affair without the knowledge of David, is not related; but from the circumstance of David's giving Zadok the preference on a former occasion, we have reason to suppose, that Abiathar had been irregular in the administration of his office. As for Joab, he

*Deut. xvij. 14, 15.

frequently

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