¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. ^(A)Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, ^(A)whom Tamar bore to Judah, because ^(B)of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, ^(A)“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^[a] 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, ^(B)‘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 (C)He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, ^(D)Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but ^(E)Solomon 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 ^(F)sleeps 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 ^(G)has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders^[b] of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ^(H)‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ^26 (I)But 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, ^(J)“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, ^30 (K)as 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, ^(L)“May my lord King David live forever!”

³¹ By faith ^(A)Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she ^(B)had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

²⁵ And in the same way was not also ^(A)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(B)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?