Nathan Rebukes David^(A)

12 The Lord sent Nathan^(B) to David.^(C) When he came to him,^(D) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

⁵ David^(E) burned with anger^(F) against the man^(G) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,^(H) the man who did this must die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over,^(I) because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!^(J) This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed^(K) you^(L) king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

⁸ But Zadok^(A) the priest, Benaiah^(B) son of Jehoiada, Nathan^(C) the prophet, Shimei^(D) and Rei and David’s special guard^(E) did not join Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel.^(F) He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons,^(G) and all the royal officials of Judah, ¹⁰ but he did not invite^(H) Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.^(I)

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Bathsheba,^(J) Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah,^(K) the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it?

³⁴ There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint^(A) him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet^(B) and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with^(C) Solomon to make his throne even greater^(D) than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Zadok^(E) the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites^(F) and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.^{(G) 39} Zadok the priest took the horn of oil^(H) from the sacred tent^(I) and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet^(J) and all the people shouted,^(K) “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes^(L) and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?”^(M)

⁴² Even as he was speaking, Jonathan^(N) son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”^(O)

⁴³ “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king’s mule, ⁴⁵ and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds^(P) with it. That’s the noise you hear.

Solomon’s Death^(A)

²⁹ As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan^(B) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah^(C) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam^(D) son of Nebat?

²⁵ He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David^(A) and Gad^(B) the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets.