And Joab and the captains of the host went out before the king to number the people of Israel. [5] And they went over Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right of the city which is in the midst of the valley of Gad and Eliezer. [6] And they came to Galaad, and into the land of Thabason, which is Adasai, and they came to Danidan and Udan, and compassed Sidon. [7] And they came to Mapsar of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Evite and the Chananite: and they came by the South of Juda to Bersabee. [8] And they compassed the whole land; and they arrived at Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. [9] And Joab gave in the number of the census of the people to the king: and Israel consisted of eight hundred thousand men of might that drew sword; and the men of Juda, five hundred thousand fighting men.
[10] And the heart of David smote him after he had numbered the people; and David said to the Lord, I have sinned grievously, O Lord, in what I have now done: remove, I pray thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have been exceedingly foolish.
[11] And David rose early in the morning, and the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, the seer, saying, Go, and speak to David, saying, [12] Thus saith the Lord, I bring one of three things upon thee: now choose thee one of them, and I will do it to thee. [13] And Gad went in to David, and told him, and said to him, Choose one of these things to befall thee, whether there shall come upon thee for three years famine in thy land; or that thou shouldest flee three months before thine enemies, and they should pursue thee; or that there should be for three days mortality in thy land. Now then decide, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. [14] And David said to Gad, On every side I am much straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his compassions are very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man.
[15] So David chose for himself the mortality: and they were the days of wheat-harvest; and the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from morning till noon, and the plague began among the people; and there died of the people from Dan even to Bersabee seventy thousand men. [16] And the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough now, withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. [17] And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel smiting the people, and he said, Behold, it is I that have done wrong, but these sheep what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be upon me, and upon my father’s house.
[18] And Gad came to David in that day, and said to him, Go up, and set up to the Lord and altar in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. [19] And David went up according to the word of Gad, as the Lord commanded him. [20] And Orna looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on before him: and Orna went forth, and did obeisance to the king with his face to the earth. [21] And Orna said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? and David said, To buy of thee the threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to the Lord that the plague may be restrained from off the people. [22] And Orna said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer to the Lord that which is good in his eyes: behold, here are oxen for a whole-burnt-offering, and the wheels and furniture of the oxen for wood. [23] Orna gave all to the king: and Orna said to the king, The Lord thy God bless thee. [24] And the king said to Orna, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a fair price, and I will not offer to the Lord my God a whole-burnt-offering for nothing. So David purchased the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. [25] And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and Solomon made an addition to the altar afterwards, for it was little at first. And the Lord hearkened to the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
III Kings
Chapter 1
[1] And king David was old and advanced in days, and they covered him with clothes, and he was not warmed. [2] And his servants said, Let them seek for the king a young virgin, and she shall wait on the king, and cherish him, and lie with him, and my lord the king shall be warmed. [3] So they sought for a fair damsel out of all the coasts of Israel; and they found Abisag the Somanite, and they brought her to the king. [4] And the damsel was extremely beautiful, and she cherished the king, and ministered to him, but the king knew her not.
[5] And Adonias the son of Aggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he prepared for himself chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. [6] And his father never at any time checked him, saying, Why hast thou done thus? and he was also very handsome in appearance, and his mother bore him after Abessalom. [7] And he conferred with Joab the son of Saruia, and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed after Adonias. [8] But Sadoc the priest, and Banaeas the son of Jodae, and Nathan the prophet, and Semei, and Resi, and the mighty men of David, did not follow Adonias. [9] And Adonias sacrificed sheep and calves and lambs by the stone of Zoelethi, which was near Rogel: and he called all his brethren, and all the adult men of Juda, servants of the king. [10] But Nathan the prophet, and Banaeas, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not call.
[11] And Nathan spoke to Bersabee the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonias the son of Aggith reigns, and our lord David knows it not? [12] And now come, let me, I pray, give thee counsel, and thou shalt rescue thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon. [13] Haste, and go in to king David, and thou shalt speak to him, saying, Hast not thou, my lord, O king, sworn to thine handmaid, saying, Thy son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then does Adonias reign? [14] And behold, while thou art still speaking there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and will confirm thy words.
[15] So Bersabee went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old, and Abisag the Somanite was ministering to the king. [16] And Bersabee bowed, and did obeisance to the king; and the king said, What is thy request? [17] And she said, My lord, thou didst swear by the Lord thy God to thine handmaid, saying, Thy son Solomon shall reign after me, and shall sit upon my throne. [18] And now, behold, Adonias reigns, and thou, my lord, O king, knowest it not. [19] And he has sacrificed calves and lambs and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander-in-chief of the host; but Solomon thy servant he has not called. [20] And thou, my lord, O king, — the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, to tell them who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him. [21] And it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son shall be offenders.
[22] And behold, while she was yet talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came. And it was reported to the king,
[23] Behold, Nathan the prophet is here: and he came in to the king’s presence, and did obeisance to the king with his face to the ground. [24] And Nathan said, My lord, O king, didst thou say, Adonias shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? [25] For he has gone down to-day, and has sacrificed calves and lambs and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, and the chiefs of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and they said, Long live king Adonias. [26] But he has not invited me thy servant, and Sadoc the priest, and Banaeas the son of Jodae, and Solomon thy servant. [27] Has this matter happened by the authority of my lord the king, and hast thou not made known to thy servant who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him? [28] And king David answered and said, Call me Bersabee: and she came in before the king, and stood before him. [29] And the king swore, and said, As the Lord lives who redeemed my soul out of all affliction, [30] as I swore to thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, so will I do this day. [31] And Bersabee bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
[32] And king David said, Call me Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaeas the son of Jodae: and they
came in before the king. [33] And the king said to them, Take the servants of your lord with you, and mount my son Solomon upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gion. [34] And there let Sadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him to be king over Israel, and do ye sound the trumpet, and ye shall say, Let king Solomon live. [35] And he shall sit upon my throne, and reign in my stead: and I have given charge that he should be for a prince over Israel and Juda. [36] And Banaeas the son of Jodae answered the king and said, So let it be: may the Lord God of my lord the king confirm it. [37] As the Lord was with my lord the king, so let him be with Solomon, and let him exalt his throne beyond the throne of my lord king David.
[38] And Sadoc the priest went down, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaeas son of Jodae, and the Cherethite, and the Phelethite, and they mounted Solomon upon the mule of king David, and led him away to Gion. [39] And Sadoc the priest took the horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon, and blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Let king Solomon live. [40] And all the people went up after him, and they danced in choirs, and rejoiced with great joy, and the earth quaked with their voice.
[41] And Adonias and all his guests heard, and they had just left off eating: and Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, and said, What means the voice of the city in tumult? [42] While he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came in: and Adonias said, Come in, for thou art a mighty man, and thou comest to bring glad tidings. [43] And Jonathan answered and said, Verily our lord king David has made Solomon king: [44] and the king has sent with him Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaeas the son of Jodae, and the Cherethite, and the Phelethite, and they have mounted him on the king’s mule; [45] and Sadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him in Gion, and have gone up thence rejoicing, and the city resounded: this is the sound which ye have heard. [46] And Solomon is seated upon the throne of the kingdom. [47] And the servants of the king have gone in 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 worshipped upon his bed. [48] Moreover thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has this day appointed one of my seed sitting on my throne, and my eyes see it.
[49] And all the guests of Adonias were dismayed, and every man went his way. [50] And Adonias feared because of Solomon, and arose, and departed, and laid hold on the horns of the altar. [51] And it was reported to Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonias fears king Solomon, and holds the horns of the altar, saying, Let Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not slay his servant with the sword. [52] And Solomon said, If he should be a valiant man, there shall not a hair of his fall to the ground; but if evil be found in him, he shall die. [53] And king Solomon sent, and they brought him away from the altar; and he went in and did obeisance to king Solomon: and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.
Chapter 2
[1] And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth: [2] but be thou strong, and shew thyself a man; [3] and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep the commandments and the ordinances and the judgements which are written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest understand what thou shalt do in all things that I command thee: [4] that the Lord may confirm his word which he spoke, saying, If thy children shall take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart, I promise thee, saying, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel. [5] Moreover thou knowest all that Joab the son of Saruia did to me, what he did to the two captains of the forces of Israel, to Abenner the son of Ner, and to Amessai the son of Jether, that he slew them, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put innocent blood on his girdle that was about his loins, and on his sandal that was on his foot. [6] Therefore thou shalt deal with him according to thy wisdom, and thou shalt not bring down his grey hairs in peace to the grave. [7] But thou shalt deal kindly with the sons of Berzelli the Galaadite, and they shall be among those that eat at thy table; for thus they drew nigh to me when I fled from the face of thy brother Abessalom. [8] And, behold, there is with thee Semei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Baurim: and he cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went into the camp; and he came down to Jordan to meet me, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. [9] But thou shalt by no means hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man, and wilt know what thou shalt do to him, and shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave.
[10] And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. [11] And the days which David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Chebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
[12] And Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was established greatly. [13] And Adonias the son of Aggith came in to Bersabee the mother of Solomon, and did obeisance to her: and she said, Dost thou enter peaceably? and he said, Peaceably: [14] I have business with thee. And she said to him, Say on. [15] And he said to her, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel turned their face toward me for a king; but the kingdom was turned from me and became my brother’s: for it was appointed to him from the Lord. [16] And now I make one request of thee, do not turn away thy face. And Bersabee said to him, Speak on. [17] And he said to her, Speak, I pray thee, to king Solomon, for he will not turn away his face from thee, and let him give me Abisag the Somanite for a wife. [18] And Bersabee said, Well; I will speak for thee to the king.
[19] And Bersabee went in to king Solomon to speak to him concerning Adonias; and the king rose up to meet her, and kissed her, and sat on the throne, and a throne was set for the mother of the king, and she sat on his right hand. [20] And she said to him, I ask of thee one little request; turn not away my face from thee. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, and I will not reject thee. [21] And she said, Let, I pray thee, Abisag the Somanite be given to Adonias thy brother to wife. [22] And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why hast thou asked Abisag for Adonias? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, and he has for his companion Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of Saruia the commander-in-chief. [23] And king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if it be not that Adonias has spoken this word against his own life. [24] And now as the Lord lives who has established me, and set me on the throne of my father David, and he has made me a house, as the Lord spoke, this day shall Adonias be put to death. [25] So king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he slew him, and Adonias died in that day.
[26] And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Depart thou quickly to Anathoth to thy farm, for thou art worthy of death this day; but I will not slay thee, because thou hast borne the ark of the covenant of the Lord before my father, and because thou was afflicted in all things wherein my father was afflicted. [27] And Solomon removed Abiathar from being a priest of the Lord, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Selom.
[28] And the report came to Joab son of Saruia; for Joab had turned after Adonias, and he went not after Solomon: and Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. [29] And it was told Solomon, saying, Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and lo! he has hold of the horns of the altar. And king Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What ails thee, that thou hast fled to the altar? and Joab said, Because I was afraid of thee, and fled for refuge to the Lord. And Solomon sent Banaeas son of Jodae, saying, Go and slay him, and bury him.
[30] And Banaeas son of Jodae came to Joab to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And Joab said, I will not come forth, for I will die here. And Banaeas son of Jodae returned and spoke to the king, saying, Thus has Joab spoken, and thus has he answered me. [31] And the king said to him, Go, and do to him as he has spoken, and kill him: and thou shalt bury him, and thou shalt remo
ve this day the blood which he shed without cause, from me and from the house of my father. [32] And the Lord has returned upon his own head the blood of his unrighteousness, inasmuch as he attacked two men more righteous and better than himself, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew not of their blood, even Abenner the son of Ner the commander-in-chief of Israel, and Amessa the son of Jether the commander-in-chief of Juda. [33] And their blood is returned upon his head, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, may there be peace for ever from the Lord. [34] So Banaeas son of Jodae went up, and attacked him, and slew him, and buried him in his house in the wilderness.
[35] And the king appointed Banaeas son of Jodae in his place over the host; and the kingdom was established in Jerusalem; and as for Sadoc the priest, the king appointed him to be high priest in the room of Abiathar. And Solomon son of David reigned over Israel and Juda in Jerusalem: and the Lord gave understanding to Solomon, and very much wisdom, and largeness of heart, as the sand by the sea-shore.
And the wisdom of Solomon abounded exceedingly beyond the wisdom of all the ancients, and beyond all the wise men of Egypt: and he took the daughter of Pharao, and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord first, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. In seven years he made and finished them.
And Solomon had seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eight thousand hewers of stone in the mountain: and Solomon made the sea, and the bases, and the great lavers, and the pillars, and the fountain of the court, and the brazen sea-and he built the citadel as a defence above it, he made a breach in the wall of the city of David: thus the daughter of Pharao went up out of the city of David to her house which he built for her. Then he built the citadel: and Solomon offered up three whole-burnt-offerings in the year, and peace-offerings on the altar which he built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord, and finished the house. And these are the chief persons who presided over the works of Solomon; three thousand and six hundred masters of the people that wrought the works. And he burit Assur, and Magdo, and Gazer, and upper Baethoron, and Ballath: only after he had built the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about, afterwards he built these cities.
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