David in His Old Age
1 Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms,1 that my lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the aShunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King
5 Now bAdonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” cAnd he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, dand he was born next after Absalom. 7 He conferred with eJoab the son of Zeruiah and with fAbiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. 8 But fZadok the priest and gBenaiah the son of Jehoiada and hNathan the prophet and iShimei and Rei and jDavid’s mighty men were not with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside kEn-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or lSolomon his brother.
Nathan and Bathsheba Before David
11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that bAdonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? 12 Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, m“Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’ 14 Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm2 your words.”
15 So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king). 16 Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?” 17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, m‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. 19 nHe has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, fAbiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but lSolomon your servant he has not invited. 20 And 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 to pass, when my lord the king osleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.”
22 While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. 23 And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25 For he has gone down this day and nhas sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders3 of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, p‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 qBut 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 brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
Solomon Anointed King
28 Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king swore, saying, r“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, 30 sas I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king and said, t“May my lord King David live forever!”
32 King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 And the king said to them, “Take with you uthe servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to vGihon. 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there wanoint him king over Israel. xThen blow the trumpet and say, y‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place. And I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. 37 zAs the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, aand make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, band the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. 39 There Zadok the priest took the horn of coil from the tent and danointed Solomon. xThen they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, y“Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.
41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” 42 While he was still speaking, behold, eJonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, ffor you are a worthy man and bring good news.” 43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king, 44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the bCherethites and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king’s mule. 45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at vGihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 gSolomon sits on the royal throne. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, h‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king ibowed himself on the bed. 48 And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, jwho has granted someone4 to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”
49 Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way. 50 And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went kand took hold of lthe horns of the altar. 51 Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, mnot one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 bEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and che sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now din the Law, Moses commanded us eto stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said fto test him, gthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, h“Let him who is without sin among you ibe the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, j“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ksin no more.”]]
I Am the Light of the World
12 lAgain Jesus spoke to them, saying, m“I am the light of the world. Whoever nfollows me will not owalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, p“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, qmy testimony is true, for I know rwhere I came from and swhere I am going, but tyou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 uYou judge according to the flesh; vI judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, wmy judgment is true, for xit is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father1 who sent me. 17 yIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and zthe Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, a“You know neither me nor my Father. bIf you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in cthe treasury, as he taught in the temple; but dno one arrested him, because ehis hour had not yet come.
21 So he said to them again, f“I am going away, and gyou will seek me, and hyou will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, i“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, j“You are from below; I am from above. kYou are of this world; lI am not of this world. 24 I told you that you mwould die in your sins, for nunless you believe that oI am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, p“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but qhe who sent me is true, and I declare rto the world swhat I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that the had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have ulifted up the Son of Man, vthen you will know that wI am he, and that xI do nothing on my own authority, but yspeak just as the Father taught me. 29 And zhe who sent me is with me. zHe has not left me alone, for aI always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, bmany believed in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, c“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will dknow the truth, and the truth ewill set you free.” 33 They answered him, f“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, geveryone who practices sin is a slave2 to sin. 35 hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ithe son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet jyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 kI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard lfrom your father.”
You Are of Your Father the Devil
39 They answered him, m“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, n“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now oyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth pthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, q“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have rone Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, s“If God were your Father, you would love me, for tI came from God and uI am here. vI came not of my own accord, but whe sent me. 43 xWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ybear to hear my word. 44 zYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. aHe was a murderer from the beginning, and bdoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. cWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. eThe reason why you do not hear them is that fyou are not of God.”
Before Abraham Was, I Am
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet iI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ksee death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet myou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ntaste death.’ 53 oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, p“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. qIt is my Father who glorifies me, rof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’3 55 But syou have not known him. tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ua liar vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 wYour father Abraham xrejoiced ythat he would see my day. zHe saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”4 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, aI am.” 59 So bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
