He has sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the commander of the army, but he has not invited your servant Solomon.

Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; ¹  see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise ²  me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”

Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. ¹  Your servant will do as you say.” ²  So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. ³ 

Solomon replied, “You demonstrated ¹  great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served ²  you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. ³  You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne. ⁴ 

Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. ¹ 

So give your servant a discerning mind ¹  so he can make judicial decisions for ²  your people and distinguish right from wrong. ³  Otherwise ⁴  no one is able ⁵  to make judicial decisions for ⁶  this great nation of yours.” ⁷ 

She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms.

After all, ¹  you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, ²  just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

“The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure ¹  just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! ² 

May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, ¹  so that he might vindicate ²  his servant and his people Israel as the need arises.

So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, ¹  I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave ¹  your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”

He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules.

I will leave ¹  his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me ²  in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. ³ 

I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve. ¹ 

When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family. He wiped out everyone who breathed, ¹  just as the Lord had predicted ²  through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was drinking heavily ¹  at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah,

He told his servant, “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” ¹  Seven times Elijah sent him to look. ² 

So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant ¹  Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’” Ahab ²  replied, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” ³