1 Kings 1
David in Old Age
Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. 2 So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her attend the king and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.” 3 So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the aShunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not cohabit with her.
5 Now aAdonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So bhe prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him. 6 His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and ahe was born after Absalom. 7 He had conferred with aJoab the son of Zeruiah and with bAbiathar the priest; and following cAdonijah they helped him. 8 But aZadok the priest, bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, cNathan the prophet, dShimei, Rei, and ethe mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside aEn-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and aSolomon his brother.
Nathan and Bathsheba
11 Then Nathan spoke to aBathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 So now come, please let me agive you counsel and save your life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “aSurely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 “Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 So Bathsheba went in to the king in the bedroom. Now athe king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king. 16 Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself before the king. And the king said, “What do you wish?” 17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘aSurely your son Solomon shall be king after me and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 Now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know it. 19 aHe has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 As for you now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it will come about, aas soon as my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered offenders.”
22 Behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. 23 They told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24 Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25 aFor he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘bLong live King Adonijah!’ 26 aBut me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and your servant Solomon, he has not invited. 27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then King David said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 The king vowed and said, “aAs the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 30 surely as aI vowed to you by the Lord the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, “aMay my lord King David live forever.”
32 Then King David said, “Call to me aZadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence. 33 The king said to them, “Take with you athe servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to bGihon. 34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet aanoint him there as king over Israel, and bblow the trumpet and say, ‘cLong live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! Thus may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say. 37 aAs the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and bmake his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”
Solomon Anointed King
38 So aZadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, bthe Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to cGihon. 39 Zadok the priest then atook the horn of oil from the tent and banointed Solomon. Then they cblew the trumpet, and all the people said, “dLong live King Solomon!” 40 All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise.
41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city making such an uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, behold, aJonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for byou are a valiant man and bring good news.” 43 But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, aso that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard. 46 Besides, aSolomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May ayour God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And bthe king bowed himself on the bed. 48 The king has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who ahas granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”
49 Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified; and they arose and each went on his way. 50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and atook hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Now it was told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, anot one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.” 53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
1 Chronicles 26-28
Divisions of the Gatekeepers
For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2 Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. 4 aObed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him. 6 Also to his son Shemaiah sons were born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were mighty men of valor. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were valiant men. 8 All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and their relatives were able men with strength for the service, 62 from Obed-edom. 9 Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, 18 valiant men. 10 Also aHosah, one of the sons of Merari had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him first), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and relatives of Hosah were 13.
12 To these divisions of the gatekeepers, the chief men, were given duties like their relatives to minister in the house of the Lord. 13 aThey cast lots, the small and the great alike, according to their fathers’ households, for every gate. 14 The lot to the east fell to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a counselor with insight, and his lot came out to the north. 15 For Obed-edom it fell to the south, and to his sons went the storehouse. 16 For Shuppim and Hosah it was to the west, by the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending highway. Guard corresponded to guard. 17 On the east there were six Levites, on the north four daily, on the south four daily, and at the storehouse two by two. 18 At the aParbar on the west there were four at the highway and two at the Parbar. 19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.
Keepers of the Treasure
20 The Levites, their relatives, had acharge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts. 21 The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite.
22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, had charge of the treasures of the house of the Lord. 23 As for the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites, 24 Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was officer over the treasures. 25 His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son. 26 This Shelomoth and his relatives had charge of all the treasures of the dedicated gifts awhich King David and the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. 27 They dedicated part of the spoil won in battles to repair the house of the Lord. 28 And all that Samuel the seer had dedicated and Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner and Joab the son of Zeruiah, everyone who had dedicated anything, all of this was in the care of Shelomoth and his relatives.
Outside Duties
29 As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons awere assigned to outside duties for Israel, as bofficers and judges. 30 As for the Hebronites, aHashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had charge of the affairs of Israel west of the Jordan, for all the work of the Lord and the service of the king. 31 As for the Hebronites, aJerijah the chief (these Hebronites were investigated according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at bJazer of Gilead) 32 and his relatives, capable men, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites aconcerning all the affairs of God and of the king.
Commanders of the Army
Now this is the enumeration of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division numbering 24,000:
2 Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel ahad charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were 24,000. 3 He was from the sons of Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month. 4 Dodai the Ahohite and his division had charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were 24,000. 5 The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were 24,000. 6 This Benaiah was the mighty man of the thirty, and had charge of thirty; and over his division was Ammizabad his son. 7 The fourth for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were 24,000. 8 The fifth for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were 24,000. 9 The sixth for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were 24,000. 10 The seventh for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000. 11 The eighth for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000. 12 The ninth for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjamites; and in his division were 24,000. 13 The tenth for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000. 14 The eleventh for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000. 15 The twelfth for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were 24,000.
Chief Officers of the Tribes
16 Now in charge of the tribes of Israel: chief officer for the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah; 17 for Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok; 18 for Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; 19 for Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel; 20 for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; 21 for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; 22 for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. aThese were the princes of the tribes of Israel. 23 But David did not count those twenty years of age and under, abecause the Lord had said He would multiply Israel bas the stars of heaven. 24 Joab the son of Zeruiah had begun to count them, but did not finish; and because of athis, wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not included in the account of the chronicles of King David.
Various Overseers
25 Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel had charge of the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah had charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages and in the towers. 26 Ezri the son of Chelub had charge of the agricultural workers who tilled the soil. 27 Shimei the Ramathite had charge of the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite had charge of the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars. 28 Baal-hanan the Gederite had charge of the olive and asycamore trees in the Shephelah; and Joash had charge of the stores of oil. 29 Shitrai the Sharonite had charge of the cattle which were grazing in aSharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai had charge of the cattle in the valleys. 30 Obil the Ishmaelite had charge of the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite had charge of the donkeys. 31 Jaziz the aHagrite had charge of the flocks. All these were overseers of the property which belonged to King David.
Counselors
32 Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni tutored the king’s sons. 33 aAhithophel was counselor to the king; and bHushai the Archite was the king’s friend. 34 Jehoiada the son of aBenaiah, and bAbiathar succeeded Ahithophel; and Joab was the ccommander of the king’s army.
David’s Address about the Temple
Now aDavid assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and bthe mighty men, even all the valiant men. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I ahad intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for bthe footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘aYou shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, achose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel bforever. For cHe has chosen Judah to be a leader; and din the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 aOf all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), bHe has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Your son aSolomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever aif he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever.
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and aserve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; bfor the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. cIf you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; abe courageous and act.”
11 Then David gave to his son Solomon athe plan of bthe porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms and cthe room for the mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for athe storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; 13 also for athe divisions of the priests and bthe Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; 14 for the golden utensils, the weight of gold for all utensils for every kind of service; for the silver utensils, the weight of silver for all utensils for every kind of service; 15 and the weight of gold for the agolden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for athe altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, even bthe cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
19 “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, aall the details of this pattern.”
20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “aBe strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. bHe will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 Now behold, athere are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and bevery willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
Romans 6
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
aWhat shall we say then? Are we to bcontinue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 aMay it never be! How shall we who bdied to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been abaptized into bChrist Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been aburied with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was braised from the dead through the cglory of the Father, so we too might walk in dnewness of life. 5 For aif we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our aold self was bcrucified with Him, in order that our cbody of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for ahe who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now aif we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been araised from the dead, is never to die again; bdeath no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be adead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin areign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on apresenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but bpresent yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For asin shall not bbe master over you, for cyou are not under law but dunder grace.
15 What then? aShall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? bMay it never be! 16 Do you not aknow that when you present yourselves to someone as bslaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of csin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But athanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that bform of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been afreed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 aI am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just bas you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For awhen you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what abenefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is bdeath. 22 But now having been afreed from sin and benslaved to God, you derive your cbenefit, resulting in sanctification, and dthe outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of asin is death, but the free gift of God is beternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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