1 Kings
1 Kings 1
King James Version · tap any highlighted word for context
1 Kings 1 — Scripture text (King James Version)
Now king was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore 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. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of , and found a , and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not. Then the son of exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And 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 . And he conferred with the son of , and with the priest: and they following helped him. But the priest, and the son of , and the prophet, and , and , and the mighty men which belonged to , were not with . And slew and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of , which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of the king’s servants: But the prophet, and , and the mighty men, and his brother, he called not. Wherefore spake unto - the mother of , saying, Hast thou not heard that the son of doth reign, and our lord knoweth it not? Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son . Go and get thee in unto king , and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth reign? Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. And - went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and the ministered unto the king. And - bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and the priest, and the captain of the host: but thy servant hath he not called. And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son shall be counted offenders. And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, the prophet also came in. And they told the king, saying, Behold the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. And said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and in abundance, and hath called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king . But me, even me thy servant, and the priest, and the son of , and thy servant , hath he not called. Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit the throne of my lord the king after him? Then king answered and said, Call me -. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of , saying, Assuredly thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. Then - bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king live for ever. And king said, Call me the priest, and the prophet, and the son of . And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to : And let the priest and the prophet anoint him there king over : and blow ye with the , and say, God save king . Then 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 and over . And the son of answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with , and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king . So the priest, and the prophet, and the son of , and the , and the , went down, and caused to ride upon king ’s mule, and brought him to . And the priest took an horn of oil out of the , and anointed . And they blew the ; and all the people said, God save king . And 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. And and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when heard the sound of the , he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar? And while he yet spake, behold, the son of the priest came: and said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings. And answered and said to , Verily our lord king hath made king. And the king hath sent with him the priest, and the prophet, and the son of , and the , and the , and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule: And the priest and the prophet have anointed him king in : and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also sitteth the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king , saying, God make the name of better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of , which hath given one to sit my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests that were with were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And feared because of , and arose, and went, and caught hold the horns of the altar. And it was told , saying, Behold, feareth king : for, lo, he hath caught hold the horns of the altar, saying, Let king swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the . And 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. So king sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king : and said unto him, Go to thine house.