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1 Kings 1

KJV · Chapter 1/22

1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

2Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

4And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

6And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.

7And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

9And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En–rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:

10But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.

11Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath–sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?

12Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.

13Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?

14Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

15And Bath–sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

16And Bath–sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

17And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

18And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:

19And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

20And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

21Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

22And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

23And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

25For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.

26But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.

27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

28Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath–sheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king.

29And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

30Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

31Then Bath–sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

33The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

34And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

35Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.

36And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too.

37As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

38So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

39And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

40And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

41And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?

42And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.

43And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

44And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule:

45And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

46And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

47And moreover the king’s servants came 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 bowed himself upon the bed.

48And also thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.

49And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

50And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

51And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

52And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

53So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

📖 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:3They find Abishag of Shunem, described as very beautiful, and bring her to the king.
  4. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:7Adonijah already has two heavyweights of the government on his side: Joab, the army commander, and Abiathar, one of the priests.
  8. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:11Nathan rushes to warn Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother: Adonijah is already declaring himself king and David does not even know it.
  12. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:14Nathan arranges to come in right after her and confirm everything before the king — two testimonies reinforcing the same request.
  15. 1 Kings 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 Kings 1:16Bathsheba bows before the king, and David asks what she needs.
  17. 1 Kings 1:17She reminds David of the promise: he had sworn by God that Solomon would reign after him.
  18. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:22Right while she is still speaking, the prophet Nathan arrives — the second arranged testimony showing up at just the right moment.
  23. 1 Kings 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 Kings 1:24Nathan asks David directly: was it you, my lord the king, who decided that Adonijah would be the next king?
  25. 1 Kings 1:25Nathan repeats the scene at the feast: plenty of food, drink, and the people already shouting, “God save king Adonijah.”
  26. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:28David sends for Bathsheba to come back in, and she enters and stands before him — the moment the king finally acts.
  29. 1 Kings 1:29David makes a solemn oath, calling on the Lord who has already delivered his life from every trouble before.
  30. 1 Kings 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 Kings 1:31Bathsheba bows to the ground and wishes David a long life — the relief of someone who had seen her son threatened.
  32. 1 Kings 1:32David calls the three men he trusts most to act immediately: the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and commander Benaiah.
  33. 1 Kings 1:33David gives the practical order: put Solomon on the king’s own mule and bring him down to Gihon.
  34. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:36Benaiah answers with a simple “Amen,” sealing the king’s order as if it were the will of God Himself.
  37. 1 Kings 1:37Benaiah adds his wish: that God be with Solomon as He was with David, and that his reign be even greater.
  38. 1 Kings 1:38Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the king’s personal guard go down with Solomon to Gihon, riding on the royal mule.
  39. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 1:43Jonathan confirms the worst news for Adonijah: David himself has made Solomon king.
  44. 1 Kings 1:44Jonathan reports that David himself sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal guard to put Solomon on the king’s mule.
  45. 1 Kings 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 Kings 1:46Jonathan sums up the outcome: Solomon is already sitting on the throne of the kingdom, a done deal.
  47. 1 Kings 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 Kings 1:48David blesses God for having lived to see, with his own eyes, a successor seated on the throne.
  49. 1 Kings 1:49On learning they had lost, Adonijah’s guests jump up in terror and each one flees his own way.
  50. 1 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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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