Adonijah Presumes to Be King

1 Now King David was ^(A)old, ^[a]advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. ² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her ^[b]stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³ So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found ^(B)Abishag the ^(C)Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

⁵ Then ^(D)Adonijah the ^[c]son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will ^[d]be king”; and ^(E)he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶ (And his father had not ^[e]rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. ^(F)His mother had borne him after Absalom.) ⁷ Then he conferred with ^(G)Joab the son of Zeruiah and with ^(H)Abiathar the priest, and ^(I)they followed and helped Adonijah. ⁸ But ^(J)Zadok the priest, ^(K)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(L)Nathan the prophet, ^(M)Shimei, Rei, and ^(N)the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹ And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of ^[f]Zoheleth, which is by ^(O)En Rogel;^[g] he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. ¹⁰ But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or ^(P)Solomon his brother.

¹¹ So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of ^(Q)Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹² Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ^(R)“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) ¹⁶ And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

¹⁷ Then she said to him, “My lord, ^(S)you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. ^19 (T)He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰ And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king ^(U)rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

²² And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³ So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (V)For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ^(W)‘Long^[h] live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Proclaims Solomon King^(X)

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ And the king took an oath and said, ^(Y)“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, ^30 (Z)just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, ^(AA)“Let my lord King David live forever!”

³² And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³ The king also said to them, ^(AB)“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own ^(AC)mule, and take him down to ^(AD)Gihon.^{[i] 34} There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(AE)anoint him king over Israel; and ^(AF)blow the horn, and say, ^[j]‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, ^(AG)“Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37 (AH)As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and ^(AI)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ^(AJ)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the ^(AK)Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. ³⁹ Then Zadok the priest took a horn of ^(AL)oil from the tabernacle and ^(AM)anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, ^(AN)and all the people said, ^[k]“Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

⁴¹ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, there came ^(AO)Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for ^(AP)you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

⁴³ Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. ⁴⁶ Also Solomon ^(AQ)sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ^(AR)‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ ^(AS)Then the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has ^(AT)given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see ^(AU)it!’ ”

⁴⁹ So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

⁵⁰ Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and ^(AV)took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

⁵² Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, ^(AW)not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Peter and John Arrested

4 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the ^(A)Sadducees came upon them, ² being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Addressing the Sanhedrin

⁵ And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶ as well as ^(B)Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁷ And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ^(C)“By what power or by what name have you done this?”

^8 (D)Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹ If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, ^(E)that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, ^(F)whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the ^(G)‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ^12 (H)Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The Name of Jesus Forbidden

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, ^(I)and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed ^(J)standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, ^(K)“What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a ^[a]notable miracle has been done through them is ^(L)evident^[b] to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

^18 (M)So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, ^(N)“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ^20 (O)For we cannot but speak the things which ^(P)we have seen and heard.” ²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, ^(Q)because of the people, since they all ^(R)glorified God for ^(S)what had been done. ²² For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

Prayer for Boldness^(T)

²³ And being let go, ^(U)they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, ^(V)You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who ^[c]by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

²⁷ “For ^(X)truly against ^(Y)Your holy Servant Jesus, ^(Z)whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ^28 (AA)to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants ^(AB)that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal, ^(AC)and that signs and wonders may be done ^(AD)through the name of ^(AE)Your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹ And when they had prayed, ^(AF)the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AG)and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Sharing in All Things

³² Now the multitude of those who believed ^(AH)were of one heart and one soul; ^(AI)neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³ And with ^(AJ)great power the apostles gave ^(AK)witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And ^(AL)great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; ^(AM)for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, ^35 (AN)and laid them at the apostles’ feet; ^(AO)and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶ And ^[d]Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of ^[e]Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, ^37 (AP)having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

The Lord the Defense of His People

A Song of Ascents. Of David.