1 Raja-raja 1:10-53

1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the elite warriors, ¹  or his brother Solomon.

1:11 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Has it been reported to you ²  that Haggith’s son Adonijah has become king behind our master David’s back? ³  1:12 Now ⁴  let me give you some advice as to how ⁵  you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life. 1:13 Visit ⁶  King David and say to him, ‘My master, O king, did you not solemnly promise ⁷  your servant, “Surely your son Solomon will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why has Adonijah become king?’ 1:14 While ⁸  you are still there speaking to the king, I will arrive ⁹  and verify your report.” ¹⁰ 

1:15 So Bathsheba visited the king in his private quarters. ¹¹  (The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 1:16 Bathsheba bowed down on the floor before ¹²  the king. The king said, “What do you want?” 1:17 She replied to him, “My master, you swore an oath to your servant by the Lord your God, ‘Solomon your son will be king after me and he will sit on my throne.’ 1:18 But now, look, Adonijah has become king! But you, ¹³  my master the king, are not even aware of it! ¹⁴  1:19 He has sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the commander of the army, but he has not invited your servant Solomon. 1:20 Now, ¹⁵  my master, O king, all Israel is watching anxiously to see who is named to succeed my master the king on the throne. ¹⁶  1:21 If a decision is not made, ¹⁷  when my master the king is buried with his ancestors, ¹⁸  my son Solomon and I ¹⁹  will be considered state criminals.” ²⁰ 

1:22 Just then, ²¹  while she was still speaking to the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. 1:23 The king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” Nathan entered and bowed before the king with his face to the floor. ²²  1:24 Nathan said, “My master, O king, did you announce, ‘Adonijah will be king after me; he will sit on my throne’? 1:25 For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment ²³  they are having a feast ²⁴  in his presence, and they have declared, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ²⁵  1:26 But he did not invite me – your servant – or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. 1:27 Has my master the king authorized this without informing your servants ²⁶  who should succeed my master the king on his throne?” ²⁷ 

David Picks Solomon as His Successor

1:28 King David responded, ²⁸  “Summon Bathsheba!” ²⁹  She came and stood before the king. ³⁰  1:29 The king swore an oath: “As certainly as the Lord lives (he who has rescued me ³¹  from every danger), 1:30 I will keep ³²  today the oath I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel: ‘Surely Solomon your son will be king after me; he will sit in my place on my throne.’” 1:31 Bathsheba bowed down to the king with her face to the floor ³³  and said, “May my master, King David, live forever!”

1:32 King David said, “Summon Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ³⁴  and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king, 1:33 and he ³⁵  told them, “Take your master’s ³⁶  servants with you, put my son Solomon on my mule, and lead him down to Gihon. ³⁷  1:34 There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint ³⁸  him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 1:35 Then follow him up as he comes and sits on my throne. He will be king in my place; I have decreed ³⁹  that he will be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 1:36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada responded ⁴⁰  to the king: “So be it! ⁴¹  May the Lord God of my master the king confirm it! ⁴²  1:37 As the Lord is with my master the king, so may he be with Solomon, and may he make him an even greater king than my master King David!” ⁴³ 

1:38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites ⁴⁴  went down, put Solomon on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon. 1:39 Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil ⁴⁵  from the tent and poured it on ⁴⁶  Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!” 1:40 All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake. ⁴⁷ 

1:41 Now Adonijah and all his guests heard the commotion just as they had finished eating. ⁴⁸  When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he asked, “Why is there such a noisy commotion in the city?” ⁴⁹  1:42 As he was still speaking, Jonathan ⁵⁰  son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for ⁵¹  an important man like you must be bringing good news.” ⁵²  1:43 Jonathan replied ⁵³  to Adonijah: “No! ⁵⁴  Our master ⁵⁵  King David has made Solomon king. 1:44 The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king’s mule. 1:45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed ⁵⁶  him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear. 1:46 Furthermore, Solomon has assumed the royal throne. ⁵⁷  1:47 The king’s servants have even come to congratulate ⁵⁸  our master ⁵⁹  King David, saying, ‘May your God ⁶⁰  make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’ ⁶¹  Then the king leaned ⁶²  on the bed 1:48 and said ⁶³  this: ‘The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because ⁶⁴  today he has placed a successor on my throne and allowed me to see it.’” ⁶⁵ 

1:49 All of Adonijah’s guests panicked; ⁶⁶  they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. 1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ⁶⁷  1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; ⁶⁸  see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise ⁶⁹  me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” 1:52 Solomon said, “If he is a loyal subject, ⁷⁰  not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor, ⁷¹  he will die.” 1:53 King Solomon sent men to bring him down ⁷²  from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, “Go home.” ⁷³ 

1 Raja-raja 1:2

1:2 His servants advised ⁷⁴  him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king, ⁷⁵  to take care of the king’s needs ⁷⁶  and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you ⁷⁷  and keep our master, the king, warm.” ⁷⁸ 

1 Samuel 7:2

Further Conflict with the Philistines

7:2 It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people ⁷⁹  of Israel longed for ⁸⁰  the Lord.

1 Samuel 12:1-15

12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done ⁸¹  everything you requested. ⁸²  I have given you a king. ⁸³  12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day. 12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. ⁸⁴  Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, ⁸⁵  and I will return it to you!”

12:4 They replied, “You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.” 12:5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king ⁸⁶  is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.” ⁸⁷  They said, “He is witness!”

12:6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors ⁸⁸  up from the land of Egypt. 12:7 Now take your positions, so I may confront you ⁸⁹  before the Lord regarding all the Lord’s just actions toward you and your ancestors. ⁹⁰  12:8 When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

12:9 “But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave ⁹¹  them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor’s ⁹²  army, ⁹³  and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 12:10 Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, ⁹⁴  ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁹⁵  Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’ ⁹⁶  12:11 So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, ⁹⁷  Barak, ⁹⁸  Jephthah, and Samuel, ⁹⁹  and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

12:12 “When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king! 12:13 Now look! Here is the king you have chosen – the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! 12:14 If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him ¹⁰⁰  and not rebelling against what he says, ¹⁰¹  and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. ¹⁰²  12:15 But if you don’t obey ¹⁰³  the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. ¹⁰⁴ 

1 Samuel 12:25

12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

[1:10]  ¹ tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).

[1:11]  ² tn Heb “Have you not heard?”

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “and our master David does not know.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “now, come.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.

[1:12]  ⁵ tn Or “so that.”

[1:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “come, go to.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.

[1:13]  ⁷ tn Or “swear an oath to.”

[1:14]  ⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which here draws attention to Nathan’s concluding word of assurance and support. For this use of the word, see HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה.

[1:14]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will come after you.”

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fill up [i.e., confirm] your words.”

[1:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “bedroom.”

[1:16]  ¹² tn Heb “bowed low and bowed down to.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tc Instead of עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) many Hebrew mss, along with the Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, have the similar sounding independent pronoun אַתָּה (’attah, “you”). This reading is followed in the present translation.

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you do not know [about it].”

[1:20]  ¹⁵ tc Many Hebrew mss have עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) rather than the similar sounding independent pronoun אַתָּה (’attah, “you”).

[1:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the eyes of all Israel are upon you to declare to them who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him.”

[1:21]  ¹⁷ tn The words “if a decision is not made” are added for clarification.

[1:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lies down with his fathers.”

[1:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I and my son Solomon.” The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will be guilty”; NASB “considered offenders”; TEV “treated as traitors.”

[1:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here draws attention to Nathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.

[1:23]  ²² tn Heb “ground.” Since this was indoors, “floor” is more appropriate than “ground.”

[1:25]  ²³ tn Heb “look.”

[1:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “eating and drinking.”

[1:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “let the king, Adonijah, live!”

[1:27]  ²⁶ tc Many Hebrew mss and ancient textual witnesses agree with the Qere in reading this as singular, “your servant.”

[1:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “From my master the king is this thing done, and you did not make known to your servants who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him?”

[1:28]  ²⁸ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[1:28]  ²⁹ sn Summon Bathsheba. Bathsheba must have left the room when Nathan arrived (see 1:22).

[1:28]  ³⁰ tn Heb “she came before the king and stood before the king.”

[1:29]  ³¹ tn Or “ransomed my life.”

[1:30]  ³² tn Or “carry out, perform.”

[1:31]  ³³ tn Heb “bowed low, face [to] the ground, and bowed down to the king.”

[1:32]  ³⁴ sn Summon…Nathan. Nathan must have left the room when Bathsheba reentered.

[1:33]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the king.”

[1:33]  ³⁶ tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

[1:33]  ³⁷ tn Heb “mount Solomon my son on the mule that belongs to me and take him down to Gihon.”

[1:34]  ³⁸ tn Or “designate” (i.e., by anointing with oil).

[1:35]  ³⁹ tn Or “commanded.”

[1:36]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[1:36]  ⁴¹ tn Or “Amen.”

[1:36]  ⁴² tn Heb “So may the Lord God of my master the king say.”

[1:37]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my master King David.”

[1:38]  ⁴⁴ sn The Kerethites and Pelethites were members of David’s royal guard (see 2 Sam 8:18). The Kerethites may have been descendants of an ethnic group originating in Crete.

[1:39]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the horn of oil.” This has been specified as olive oil in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  sn A horn filled with oil. An animal’s horn was used as an oil flask in the anointing ceremony.

[1:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “anointed.”

[1:40]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them.” The verb בָּקַע (baqa’, “to split open”), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.

[1:41]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard, now they had finished eating.”

[1:41]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Why is the city’s sound noisy?”

[1:42]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text has “look” at this point. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), “look draws attention to Jonathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.

[1:42]  ⁵¹ tn Or “surely.”

[1:42]  ⁵² tn Heb “you are a man of strength [or “ability”] and you bring a message [that is] good.” Another option is to understand the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) in the sense of “a worthy man,” that is “loyal.” See also 1 Kgs 1:52 and HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל.

[1:43]  ⁵³ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[1:43]  ⁵⁴ tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (’aval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative.

[1:43]  ⁵⁵ tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

[1:45]  ⁵⁶ tn I.e., designated by anointing with oil.

[1:46]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.”

[1:47]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “to bless.”

[1:47]  ⁵⁹ tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

[1:47]  ⁶⁰ tc Many Hebrew mss agree with the Qere in reading simply “God.”

[1:47]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used here of one’s fame and reputation.

[1:47]  ⁶² tn Or “bowed down; worshiped.”

[1:48]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew text reads, “and the king said.”

[1:48]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who….” In this blessing formula אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who; because”) introduces the reason why the one being blessed deserves the honor.

[1:48]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and my eyes are seeing.”

[1:49]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “were afraid, trembled.”

[1:50]  ⁶⁷ sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Adonijah was seeking asylum from Solomon.

[1:51]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:51]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “swear an oath to.”

[1:52]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “if he is a man of strength [or ability].” In this context, where Adonijah calls himself a “servant,” implying allegiance to the new king, the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) probably carries the sense of “a worthy man,” that is, “loyal” (see HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל).

[1:52]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “but if evil is found in him.”

[1:53]  ⁷² tn Heb “sent and they brought him down.”

[1:53]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Go to your house.”

[1:2]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “said to.”

[1:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).

[1:2]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).

[1:2]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.

[1:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”

[7:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[7:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”

[12:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Look, I have listened to your voice.”

[12:1]  ⁸² tn Heb “to all which you said to me.”

[12:1]  ⁸³ tn Heb “and I have installed a king over you.”

[12:3]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “anointed [one].”

[12:3]  ⁸⁵ tn The words “tell me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:5]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “anointed [one].”

[12:5]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “that you have not found anything in my hand.”

[12:6]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).

[12:7]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and I will enter into judgment with you” (NRSV similar); NAB “and I shall arraign you.”

[12:7]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “all the just actions which he has done with you and with your fathers.”

[12:9]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “sold” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “he allowed them to fall into the clutches of Sisera”; NLT “he let them be conquered by Sisera.”

[12:9]  ⁹² map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[12:9]  ⁹³ tn Heb “captain of the host of Hazor.”

[12:10]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and said.”

[12:10]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural). The words “images of” are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.

[12:10]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.

[12:10]  ⁹⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[12:11]  ⁹⁷ sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.

[12:11]  ⁹⁸ tc The MT has “Bedan” (בְּדָן) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”

[12:11]  ⁹⁹ tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”

[12:14]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and you listen to his voice.”

[12:14]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” So also in v. 15.

[12:14]  ¹⁰² tn The words “all will be well” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:15]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

[12:15]  ¹⁰⁴ tc The LXX reads “your king” rather than the MT’s “your fathers.” The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate “as it was against your fathers.” See P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB), 212.