2Sa 7:2, 12:1-15, 25, 1Ki 1:10-53 | ESV | STEP | the king said to Nathan the prophet , See now , I dwell in a house of cedar , but the ark of God dwells in a tent .

1 And the Lord sent ^dNathan to David. He came to him and said to him, ^e“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, ^{▼▼Hebrew bosom; also verse 8} and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ^g“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb ^hfourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁱ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 ^jWhy have you despised the word of the Lord, ^kto do what is evil in his sight? ^lYou have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and ^mhave taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, ⁿbut I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 ^oDavid said to Nathan, ^p“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, ^q“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly ^rscorned the Lord, ^{▼▼Masoretic Text the enemies of the Lord; Dead Sea Scroll the word of the Lord} the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

David’s Child Dies

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.

2 Samuel 12:25

25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, ^{▼▼ Jedidiah means beloved of the Lord} because of the Lord.

1 Kings 1:10-53

10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or ^uSolomon his brother.

Nathan and Bathsheba Before David

11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that ^vAdonijah 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, ^w“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 confirm ^{▼▼Or expand on} 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, ^y‘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 ^zHe has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, ^aaAbiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but ^abSolomon 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 ^acsleeps 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 ^adhas sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint Joab the commander} of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ^af‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 ^agBut 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, ^ah“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, 30 ^aias 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, ^aj“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 ^akthe servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to ^alGihon. 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there ^amanoint him king over Israel. ^anThen blow the trumpet and say, ^ao‘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 ^apAs the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, ^aqand 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, ^arand 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 ^asoil from the tent and ^atanointed Solomon. ^auThen they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, ^av“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, ^awJonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, ^axfor 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 ^ayCherethites 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 ^azGihon, 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 ^baSolomon sits on the royal throne. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ^bb‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king ^bcbowed himself on the bed. 48 And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ^bdwho has granted someone ^{▼▼Septuagint one of my offspring} 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 ^bfand took hold of ^bgthe 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, ^bhnot 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.”