1 Reis 1

BLIVRE · Chapter 1/22

1Quando o rei Davi era velho, e de idade avançada, cobriam-lhe de roupas, mas não se aquecia.

2Disseram-lhe portanto seus servos: Busquem a meu senhor o rei uma moça virgem, para que esteja diante do rei, e o abrigue, e durma a seu lado, e aquecerá a meu senhor o rei.

3E buscaram uma moça formosa por todo o termo de Israel, e acharam a Abisague sunamita, e trouxeram-na ao rei.

4E a moça era formosa, a qual aquecia ao rei, e lhe servia: mas o rei nunca a conheceu.

5Então Adonias filho de Hagite se levantou, dizendo: Eu reinarei. E preparou carros e cavaleiros, e cinquenta homens que corressem adiante dele.

6E seu pai nunca o entristeceu em todos seus dias com dizer-lhe: Por que fazes assim? E também este era de bela aparência; e havia o gerado depois de Absalão.

7E tinha tratos com Joabe filho de Zeruia, e com Abiatar sacerdote, os quais ajudavam a Adonias.

8Mas Zadoque sacerdote, e Benaia filho de Joiada, e Natã profeta, e Simei, e Reí, e todos os grandes de Davi, não seguiam a Adonias.

9E matando Adonias ovelhas e vacas e animais engordados junto à penha de Zoelete, que está próxima da fonte de Rogel, convidou a todos seus irmãos os filhos do rei, e a todos os homens de Judá, servos do rei:

10Mas não convidou a Natã profeta, nem a Benaia, nem aos grandes, nem a Salomão seu irmão.

11E falou Natã a Bate-Seba mãe de Salomão, dizendo: Não ouviste que reina Adonias filho de Hagite, sem sabê-lo Davi nosso senhor?

12Vem pois agora, e toma meu conselho, para que guardes tua vida, e a vida de teu filho Salomão.

13Vai, e entra ao rei Davi, e dize-lhe: Rei senhor meu, não juraste tu à tua serva, dizendo: Salomão teu filho reinará depois de mim, e ele se sentará em meu trono? por que pois reina Adonias?

14E estando tu ainda falando com o rei, eu entrarei atrás de ti, e acabarei teus argumentos.

15Então Bate-Seba entrou ao rei à câmara: e o rei era muito velho; e Abisague sunamita servia ao rei.

16E Bate-Seba se inclinou, e fez reverência ao rei. E o rei disse: Que tens?

17E ela lhe respondeu: Senhor meu, tu juraste à tua serva pelo SENHOR teu Deus, dizendo: Salomão teu filho reinará depois de mim, e ele se sentará em meu trono;

18E eis que agora Adonias reina: e tu, meu senhor rei, agora não o soubeste.

19Matou bois, e animais engordados, e muitas ovelhas, e convidou a todos os filhos do rei, e a Abiatar sacerdote, e a Joabe general do exército; mas a Salomão teu servo não convidou.

20Entretanto, rei senhor meu, os olhos de todo Israel estão sobre ti, para que lhes declares quem se há de sentar no trono de meu senhor o rei depois dele.

21De outra sorte acontecerá, quando meu senhor o rei descansar com seus pais, que eu e meu filho Salomão seremos tidos por culpados.

22E estando ainda falando ela com o rei, eis que Natã profeta, que veio.

23E deram aviso ao rei, dizendo: Eis que Natã profeta: o qual quando entrou ao rei, prostrou-se diante do rei inclinando seu rosto à terra.

24E disse Natã: Rei senhor meu, disseste tu: Adonias reinará depois de mim, e ele se sentará em meu trono?

25Porque hoje desceu, e matou bois, e animais engordados, e muitas ovelhas, e convidou a todos os filhos do rei, e aos capitães do exército, e também a Abiatar sacerdote; e eis que, estão comendo e bebendo diante dele, e disseram: Viva o rei Adonias!

26Mas nem a mim teu servo, nem a Zadoque sacerdote, nem a Benaia filho de Joiada, nem a Salomão teu servo, convidou.

27É este negócio ordenado por meu senhor o rei, sem haver declarado a teu servo quem se havia de sentar no trono de meu senhor o rei depois dele?

28Então o rei Davi respondeu, e disse: Chamai-me a Bate-Seba. E ela entrou à presença do rei, e pôs-se diante do rei.

29E o rei jurou, dizendo: Vive o SENHOR, que redimiu minha alma de toda angústia,

30Que como eu te ei jurado pelo SENHOR Deus de Israel, dizendo: Teu filho Salomão reinará depois de mim, e ele se sentará em meu trono em lugar meu; que assim o farei hoje.

31Então Bate-Seba se inclinou ao rei, seu rosto à terra, e fazendo reverência ao rei, disse: Viva meu senhor o rei Davi para sempre.

32E o rei Davi disse: Chamai-me a Zadoque sacerdote, e a Natã profeta, e a Benaia filho de Joiada. E eles entraram à presença do rei.

33E o rei lhes disse: Tomai convosco os servos de vosso senhor, e fazei subir a Salomão meu filho em minha mula, e levai-o a Giom:

34E ali o ungirão Zadoque sacerdote e Natã profeta por rei sobre Israel; e tocareis trombeta, dizendo: Viva o rei Salomão!

35Depois ireis vós detrás dele, e virá e se sentará em meu trono, e ele reinará por mim; porque a ele ordenei para que seja príncipe sobre Israel e sobre Judá.

36Então Benaia filho de Joiada respondeu ao rei, e disse: Amém. Assim o diga o SENHOR, Deus de meu senhor o rei.

37Da maneira que o SENHOR foi com meu senhor o rei, assim seja com Salomão; e ele faça maior seu trono que o trono de meu senhor o rei Davi.

38E desceu Zadoque sacerdote, e Natã profeta, e Benaia filho de Joiada, e os quereteus e os peleteus, e fizeram subir a Salomão na mula do rei Davi, e levaram-no a Giom.

39E tomando Zadoque sacerdote o chifre do azeite do tabernáculo, ungiu a Salomão: e tocaram trombeta, e disse todo o povo: Viva o rei Salomão!

40Depois subiu todo o povo depois dele, e cantava a gente com flautas, e faziam grandes alegrias, que parecia que a terra se fendia com o barulho deles.

41E ouviu-o Adonias, e todos os convidados que com ele estavam, quando já haviam acabado de comer. E ouvindo Joabe o som da trombeta, disse: Por que se alvoroça a cidade com estrondo?

42Estando ainda ele falando, eis que Jônatas, filho do sacerdote Abiatar, veio, ao qual Adonias disse: Entra, porque és homem digno, e trarás boas notícias.

43E Jônatas respondeu, e disse a Adonias: Certamente nosso senhor, o rei Davi, constituiu rei a Salomão;

44E o rei enviou com ele o sacerdote Zadoque o profeta Natã, Benaia, filho de Joiada, e também os quereteus e os peleteus, os quais lhe fizeram subir na mula do rei;

45E o sacerdote Zadoque e o profeta Natã o ungiram em Giom como rei, e dali subiram alegres, e a cidade está cheia de alvoroço. Este é o barulho que ouvistes.

46E também Salomão se assentou no trono do reino.

47E ainda os servos do rei vieram a bendizer ao nosso senhor,o rei Davi, dizendo: Deus faça o nome de Salomão melhor que o teu nome, e faça o seu trono maior que o teu. E o rei se inclinou no leito.

48E também o rei falou assim: Bendito seja o SENHOR, Deus de Israel, que hoje deu quem se assente em meu trono, vendo-o meus olhos.

49Então se estremeceram, e levantaram-se todos os convidados que estavam com Adonias, e foi-se cada um por seu caminho.

50Mas Adonias, temendo da presença de Salomão, levantou-se e foi-se, e agarrou as pontas do altar.

51E foi feito saber a Salomão, dizendo: Eis que que Adonias tem medo do rei Salomão: pois agarrou as pontas do altar, dizendo: Jure-me hoje o rei Salomão que não matará à espada a seu servo.

52E Salomão disse: Se ele for virtuoso, nenhum de seus cabelos cairá em terra: mas se se achar mal nele, morrerá.

53E enviou o rei Salomão, e trouxeram-no do altar; e ele veio, e inclinou-se ao rei Salomão. E Salomão lhe disse: Vai-te à tua casa.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David is old and frail. His son Adonijah tries to proclaim himself king, but the prophet Nathan and Bathsheba intervene, and David orders that Solomon be anointed king immediately at Gihon. Adonijah, afraid, clings to the altar seeking mercy.

Explanation

This chapter shows the fragility of a great king's final days and how ambitions for power can arise quickly when leadership seems to be faltering. Adonijah, older and never corrected by his father (as the text reminds us about him), repeats the pattern of reckless self-promotion seen in Absalom. The swift action of Nathan and Bathsheba shows the importance of trusted people acting with courage to protect God's will and the promise made to Solomon. It is a reminder that divine promises often need people willing to act at the right moment for them to be fulfilled.

Fun facts

  • Gihon, where Solomon was anointed, was Jerusalem's main water source before Hezekiah's tunnel was built, and anointing a king near a spring symbolized life and lasting continuity.
  • Adonijah's gesture of grabbing the 'horns of the altar' (the projecting corners of the altar of sacrifice) was a culturally recognized plea for asylum, based on the idea that the altar was a sacred place of protection (see Exodus 21:14).

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Reis 1:1David is so old and frail that not even blankets can keep him warm. It sets the stage for everything that follows: a weakened king leaves the succession wide open.
  2. 1 Reis 1:2The servants’ solution to warm the king is to bring in a young woman to stay close to him and care for him — it’s not about romance, it’s about an old man who can no longer warm himself.
  3. 1 Reis 1:3They find Abishag of Shunem, described as very beautiful, and bring her to the king.
  4. 1 Reis 1:4Abishag was brought to warm David, who was now very old, and to care for him — not as an actual wife, and the text makes that clear by saying the king never knew her. This detail matters because, in the next chapter, asking for her hand becomes almost a claim to the throne: touching a woman from the dead king’s harem was seen as claiming his place.
  5. 1 Reis 1:5There was no fixed rule saying the oldest living son automatically inherited the throne. Adonijah was the oldest since Absalom’s death and acts as if that were enough, but David had already promised the throne to Solomon — that gap is what sets off the whole dispute of the chapter.
  6. 1 Reis 1:6The text explains why Adonijah feels entitled to become king: his father never rebuked him for anything, he was handsome like Absalom had been, and he was born right after him in the line of sons.
  7. 1 Reis 1:7Adonijah already has two heavyweights of the government on his side: Joab, the army commander, and Abiathar, one of the priests.
  8. 1 Reis 1:8But the other priest, Zadok, along with commander Benaiah, the prophet Nathan, and David’s elite soldiers, do not join Adonijah’s coup — the court is divided.
  9. 1 Reis 1:9Adonijah holds a great sacrificial feast by a spring and invites his brothers and the elite of Judah — a way of presenting himself as the king who has already arrived.
  10. 1 Reis 1:10He only leaves out the ones he knew would not support him: the prophet Nathan, commander Benaiah, the elite soldiers, and Solomon. The absence gives away the strategy.
  11. 1 Reis 1:11Nathan rushes to warn Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother: Adonijah is already declaring himself king and David does not even know it.
  12. 1 Reis 1:12Nathan offers to help Bathsheba protect her own life and her son’s — a sign that losing this succession dispute would be fatal, not just political.
  13. 1 Reis 1:13Nathan’s plan is for Bathsheba to remind David of an oath he had already made: that Solomon, and no other son, would reign after him.
  14. 1 Reis 1:14Nathan arranges to come in right after her and confirm everything before the king — two testimonies reinforcing the same request.
  15. 1 Reis 1:15Bathsheba enters David’s room, and it is Abishag herself, the young woman brought to care for him, who is there attending the king.
  16. 1 Reis 1:16Bathsheba bows before the king, and David asks what she needs.
  17. 1 Reis 1:17She reminds David of the promise: he had sworn by God that Solomon would reign after him.
  18. 1 Reis 1:18She tells him what is at stake: Adonijah is already reigning on his own, and the king has not even been informed.
  19. 1 Reis 1:19She describes Adonijah’s feast and makes clear the detail that matters most: Solomon, the king’s faithful servant, was not invited.
  20. 1 Reis 1:20She reminds David that all the people are waiting for him to say, in plain words, who will sit on the throne after him.
  21. 1 Reis 1:21Her fear is concrete: if David dies without deciding anything, she and Solomon will be treated as traitors by the new king.
  22. 1 Reis 1:22Right while she is still speaking, the prophet Nathan arrives — the second arranged testimony showing up at just the right moment.
  23. 1 Reis 1:23They tell the king Nathan is there, and the prophet bows with his face to the ground before him, in his usual respectful way.
  24. 1 Reis 1:24Nathan asks David directly: was it you, my lord the king, who decided that Adonijah would be the next king?
  25. 1 Reis 1:25Nathan repeats the scene at the feast: plenty of food, drink, and the people already shouting, “God save king Adonijah.”
  26. 1 Reis 1:26Nathan points out that he himself, Zadok, Benaiah, and Solomon were left off the guest list — the same names Bathsheba had already mentioned.
  27. 1 Reis 1:27Nathan asks whether this came from an order of the king himself, since no one told him, the king’s faithful servant, who the chosen successor would be.
  28. 1 Reis 1:28David sends for Bathsheba to come back in, and she enters and stands before him — the moment the king finally acts.
  29. 1 Reis 1:29David makes a solemn oath, calling on the Lord who has already delivered his life from every trouble before.
  30. 1 Reis 1:30David confirms, without hesitation: what he swore before still stands, and he will carry it out now — Solomon will be king in his place.
  31. 1 Reis 1:31Bathsheba bows to the ground and wishes David a long life — the relief of someone who had seen her son threatened.
  32. 1 Reis 1:32David calls the three men he trusts most to act immediately: the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and commander Benaiah.
  33. 1 Reis 1:33David gives the practical order: put Solomon on the king’s own mule and bring him down to Gihon.
  34. 1 Reis 1:34There, Zadok and Nathan are to anoint Solomon as king, with a trumpet blast and the public shout, “God save king Solomon” — a lightning coronation meant to cut off Adonijah’s coup.
  35. 1 Reis 1:35After the anointing, the people are to follow Solomon to the throne: David is officially appointing him as ruler over Israel and Judah.
  36. 1 Reis 1:36Benaiah answers with a simple “Amen,” sealing the king’s order as if it were the will of God Himself.
  37. 1 Reis 1:37Benaiah adds his wish: that God be with Solomon as He was with David, and that his reign be even greater.
  38. 1 Reis 1:38Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the king’s personal guard go down with Solomon to Gihon, riding on the royal mule.
  39. 1 Reis 1:39Anointing with oil taken from the tabernacle, rather than just any oil, marked the choice as coming from God, not only from the king. That’s why this priestly act carries more weight than the popular acclaim Adonijah had already organized on his own.
  40. 1 Reis 1:40The people go up behind Solomon playing flutes, in a celebration so great that the noise shakes the ground — the immediate popular response to the coronation.
  41. 1 Reis 1:41On the other side of the city, Adonijah and his guests hear the sound of the trumpets, and Joab asks what all the commotion is about.
  42. 1 Reis 1:42Jonathan, son of the priest Abiathar, arrives, and Adonijah asks him to bring good news — but the tone of the scene already warns that it will not be.
  43. 1 Reis 1:43Jonathan confirms the worst news for Adonijah: David himself has made Solomon king.
  44. 1 Reis 1:44Jonathan reports that David himself sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal guard to put Solomon on the king’s mule.
  45. 1 Reis 1:45He tells him that Solomon has already been anointed at Gihon and the whole city is celebrating — that is the noise Adonijah and his guests heard.
  46. 1 Reis 1:46Jonathan sums up the outcome: Solomon is already sitting on the throne of the kingdom, a done deal.
  47. 1 Reis 1:47The court officials went to congratulate David, wishing that Solomon’s name and throne would surpass his own — and the old king, moved, bows on his own bed.
  48. 1 Reis 1:48David blesses God for having lived to see, with his own eyes, a successor seated on the throne.
  49. 1 Reis 1:49On learning they had lost, Adonijah’s guests jump up in terror and each one flees his own way.
  50. 1 Reis 1:50The horns were the projecting corners of the sacrifice altar, and grabbing hold of them was a custom of seeking asylum, a kind of truce request while the person stayed there. It worked as temporary protection, but it depended entirely on the goodwill of whoever held the power.
  51. 1 Reis 1:51They tell Solomon that Adonijah, afraid of being killed, has grabbed the horns of the altar, asking for an oath that his life would be spared.
  52. 1 Reis 1:52Solomon answers with a clear condition: if Adonijah proves loyal, no harm will come to him; if he proves disloyal, he will die.
  53. 1 Reis 1:53Solomon has Adonijah brought down from the altar; he bows before the new king, who simply sends him home — a conditional pardon, not full trust.

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