Solomon & The Temple

Shlomo was told, "Here, Adoniyah is terrified of King Shlomo; he has grabbed hold of the horns of the altar and is saying, 'First let King Shlomo swear to me that he will not have his servant executed.'"

Shlomo said, "If he will demonstrate that he is a worthy man, not a hair of his will fall to the earth. But if he is found making trouble, he will die."

So King Shlomo sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and prostrated himself before King Shlomo; and Shlomo said to him, 'Go on home.'"

The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows:

"I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man.

Observe the charge of ADONAI your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go.

If you do, ADONAI will fulfill what he promised me when he said, 'If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Isra'el.'

"Moreover, you are aware of what Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah did to me, that is, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Isra'el, Avner the son of Ner and 'Amasa the son of Yeter - he killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet.

Therefore, act according to your wisdom; don't let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

"But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gil'adi. Include them with those who eat at your table, because they came and stood with me when I was fleeing from Avshalom your brother.

"Finally, you have with you Shim'i the son of Gera the Binyamini, from Bachurim. He laid a terrible curse on me when I was on my way to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at the Yarden; so I swore to him by ADONAI that I would not have him put to death with the sword.

Now, however, you should not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him - you will bring his gray head down to the grave with blood."

Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.

David had ruled Isra'el for forty years - seven years in Hevron and thirty-three years in Yerushalayim.

Shlomo sat on the throne of David his father; and his rule had become firmly established,

when Adoniyah the son of Haggit came to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo. She asked, "Have you come as a friend?" He answered, "Yes, as a friend."

Then he continued, "I have something to say to you." She said, "Go on."

He said, "You know that the kingdom should have been mine, that all Isra'el was looking to me to be their ruler. No matter; the kingdom has turned around and become my brother's, because ADONAI gave it to him.

But now I ask one favor of you; don't deny me." "Go on," she said.

He said, "Please speak to Shlomo the king - for he won't say 'No' to you - and ask him to give me Avishag the Shunamit as my wife."

Bat-Sheva said, "All right, I will speak to the king on your behalf."

So Bat-Sheva went to King Shlomo to speak to him on behalf of Adoniyah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne set up for the king's mother, so that she sat at his right.

She said, "I am asking one small favor of you; don't deny me." The king said to her, "Ask, mother; I won't deny you."

She said, "Let Avishag the Shunamit be given to Adoniyah your brother as his wife."

King Shlomo answered his mother, "Why are you asking Avishag the Shunamit for Adoniyah? Ask the kingdom for him too! After all, he's my older brother! Yes, for him, and for Evyatar the cohen and for Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah!"