NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Solomon's Throne Established by Wisdom — March 31
1 Kings 1-4
1 Kings 1
1 Now King David was old, [a] advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 365N 90.1
2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her [b] stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 365N 90.2
3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 365N 90.3
4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her. 365N 90.4
5 Then Adonijah the [c] son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will [d] be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 365N 90.5
6 (And his father had not [e] rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) 365N 90.6
7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 365N 90.7
8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah. 365N 90.8
9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of [f] Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; [g] he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 365N 90.9
10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother. 365N 90.10
11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba 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? 365N 90.11
12 Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 365N 90.12
13 Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 365N 90.13
14 Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.” 365N 90.14
15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 365N 90.15
16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?” 365N 90.16
17 Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 365N 90.17
18 So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 365N 90.18
19 He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 365N 90.19
20 And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 365N 90.20
21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.” 365N 90.21
22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 365N 90.22
23 So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 365N 90.23
24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 365N 90.24
25 For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘ Long [h] live King Adonijah!’ 365N 90.25
26 But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 365N 90.26
27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” 365N 90.27
28 Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 365N 90.28
29 And the king took an oath and said, “ As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 365N 90.29
30 just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.” 365N 90.30
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!” 365N 90.31
32 And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 365N 90.32
33 The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. [i] 365N 90.33
34 There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, [j] ‘ Long live King Solomon!’ 365N 90.34
35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 365N 90.35
36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. 365N 90.36
37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” 365N 90.37
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 365N 90.38
39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, [k] “ Long live King Solomon!” 365N 90.39
40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound. 365N 90.40
41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 365N 90.41
42 While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.” 365N 90.42
43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 365N 90.43
44 The king has 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. 365N 90.44
45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 365N 90.45
46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 365N 90.46
47 And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 365N 90.47
48 Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it! ’ ” 365N 90.48
49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way. 365N 90.49
50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 365N 90.50
51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, 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.’ ” 365N 90.51
52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 365N 90.52
53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.” 365N 90.53
1 Kings 2
1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he [a] charged Solomon his son, saying: 365N 90.54
2 “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 365N 90.55
3 And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 365N 90.56
4 that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 365N 90.57
5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 365N 90.58
6 Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. 365N 90.59
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 365N 90.60
8 “And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord , saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 365N 90.61
9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.” 365N 90.62
10 So David [b] rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. 365N 90.63
11 The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 365N 90.64
12 Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established. 365N 90.65
13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.” 365N 90.66
14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.” 365N 90.67
15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord . 365N 90.68
16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not [c] deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” 365N 90.69
17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.” 365N 90.70
18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.” 365N 90.71
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right hand. 365N 90.72
20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not [d] refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 365N 90.73
21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.” 365N 90.74
22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 365N 90.75
23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord , saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 365N 90.76
24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a [e] house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 365N 90.77
25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died. 365N 90.78
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for [f] you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 365N 90.79
27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord , that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh. 365N 90.80
28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord , and took hold of the horns of the altar. 365N 90.81
29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord ; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 365N 90.82
30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord , and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 365N 90.83
31 Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 365N 90.84
32 So the Lord will return his [g] blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 365N 90.85
33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord .” 365N 90.86
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 365N 90.87
35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. 365N 90.88
36 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 365N 90.89
37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your [h] blood shall be on your own head.” 365N 90.90
38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 365N 90.91
39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 365N 90.92
40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 365N 90.93
41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 365N 90.94
42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord , and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 365N 90.95
43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?” 365N 90.96
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will return your wickedness on your own head. 365N 90.97
45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 365N 90.98
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. 365N 90.99
1 Kings 3
1 Now Solomon made [a] a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord , and the wall all around Jerusalem. 365N 90.100
2 Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. 365N 90.101
3 And Solomon loved the Lord , walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 365N 90.102
4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 365N 90.103
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 365N 90.104
6 And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 365N 90.105
7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 365N 90.106
8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 365N 90.107
9 Therefore give to Your servant an [b] understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 365N 90.108
10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 365N 90.109
11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 365N 90.110
12 behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 365N 90.111
13 And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 365N 90.112
14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen [c] your days.” 365N 90.113
15 Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord , offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. 365N 90.114
16 Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. 365N 90.115
17 And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 365N 90.116
18 Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; [d] no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 365N 90.117
19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 365N 90.118
20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 365N 90.119
21 And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.” 365N 90.120
22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king. 365N 90.121
23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 365N 90.122
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 365N 90.123
25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” 365N 90.124
26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him. ” 365N 90.125
27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.” 365N 90.126
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. 365N 90.127
1 Kings 4
1 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 365N 90.128
2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 365N 90.129
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [a] scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 365N 90.130
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; 365N 90.131
5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friend; 365N 90.132
6 Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force. 365N 90.133
7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 365N 90.134
8 These are their names: [b] Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 365N 90.135
9 [c] Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 365N 90.136
10 [d] Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 365N 90.137
11 [e] Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 365N 90.138
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 365N 90.139
13 [f] Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 365N 90.140
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 365N 90.141
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 365N 90.142
16 Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 365N 90.143
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 365N 90.144
18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 365N 90.145
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land. 365N 90.146
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 365N 90.147
21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the [g] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 365N 90.148
22 Now Solomon’s [h] provision for one day was thirty [i] kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 365N 90.149
23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. 365N 90.150
24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [j] the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. 365N 90.151
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt [k] safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 365N 90.152
26 Solomon had [l] forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 365N 90.153
27 And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 365N 90.154
28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge. 365N 90.155
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 365N 90.156
30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 365N 90.157
31 For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 365N 90.158
32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 365N 90.159
33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 365N 90.160
34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. 365N 90.161