Hayyei Sarah
This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh.
I Kings 1:1-31
Chapter 1
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 Abishag 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 Adonijah son of Haggith 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 Absalom and, like him, was very handsome.
7 He conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar, and they supported Adonijah; 8 but the priest Zadok, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the prophet Nathan, Shimei and Rei, and David’s own fighting men did not side with Adonijah. 9 Adonijah 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 Adonijah son of Haggith 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 Adonijah 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 Abishag 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 the Lord your God: ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit upon my throne.’ 18 Yet now Adonijah 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 Abiathar the priest and Joab 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, ‘Adonijah 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 Abiathar the priest. At this very moment they are eating and drinking with him, and they are shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 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 the Lord lives, who has rescued me from every trouble: 30 The oath I swore to you by the Lord, 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 fulfill 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!”
Taken from Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.
Used by permission of The Jewish Publication Society. Copyright © 1962, 1992
Third Edition by the Jewish Publication Society.
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