Top 10 Most Difficult Working Relationships In The Bible

Chapter 1

1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat.

2 Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.

3 So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

4 The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king didn't know her intimately.

5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

6 His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom.

7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

9 Adonijah killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:

10 but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he didn't call.

11 Then Nathan spoke to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Haven't you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord doesn't know it?

12 Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and the life of your son Solomon.

13 Go and get you in to king David, and tell him, Didn't you, my lord, king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign?

14 Behold, while you yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words.

15 Bath-sheba went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.

16 Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king. The king said, What would you?

17 She said to him, My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your handmaid, [saying], Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.

18 Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don't know it:

19 and he has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host; but he hasn't called Solomon your servant.

20 You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

22 Behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

23 They told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. When he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

24 Nathan said, My lord, king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?

25 For he is gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, [Long] live king Adonijah.

26 But he hasn't called me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.

27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven't showed to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

28 Then king David answered, Call to me Bath-sheba. She came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.

29 The king swore, and said, As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

30 most assuredly as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place; most assuredly so will I do this day.

31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

32 King David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. They came before the king.

33 The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

34 and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow you the trumpet, and say, [Long] live king Solomon.

35 Then you shall 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 prince over Israel and over Judah.

36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: Yahweh, the God of my lord the king, say so [too].

37 As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.

39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, [Long] live king Solomon.

40 All the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with the sound of them.

41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?

42 While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a worthy man, and bring good news.

43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, Most assuredly our lord king David has made Solomon king:

44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king's mule;

45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard.

46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.

47 Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.

48 Also thus said the king, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it.

49 All the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

50 Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

51 It was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for, behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.

52 Solomon said, If he shall show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die.

53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and did obeisance to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.

Chapter 37

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's travels, in the land of Canaan.

2 This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.

4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn't speak peaceably to him.

5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.

6 He said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

7 for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf."

8 His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.

9 He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me."

10 He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?"

11 His brothers envied him; but his father kept this saying in mind.

12 His brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

13 Israel said to Joseph, "Aren't your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." He said to him, "Here I am."

14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again." So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?"

16 He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock."

17 The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.

19 They said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer comes.

20 Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."

21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let's not take his life."

22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him" - that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

23 It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;

24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, and let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him.

28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn't in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

30 He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?"

31 They took Joseph's coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

32 They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, "We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son's coat or not."

33 He recognized it, and said, "It is my son's coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces."

34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." His father wept for him.

36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.

Chapter 12

1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.

2 They said, Has Yahweh indeed spoken only with Moses? Hasn't he spoken also with us? Yahweh heard it.

3 Now the man Moses was very humble, above all the men who were on the surface of the earth.

4 Yahweh spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, Come out you three to the tent of meeting. They three came out.

5 Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.

6 He said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Yahweh will make myself known to him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream.

7 My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house:

8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Yahweh shall he see: why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?

9 The anger of Yahweh was kindled against them; and he departed.

10 The cloud removed from over the Tent; and, behold, Miriam was leprous, as [white as] snow: and Aaron looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

11 Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, please don't lay sin on us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.

12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb.

13 Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, Heal her, God, I beg you.

14 Yahweh said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn't she be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.

15 Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days: and the people didn't travel until Miriam was brought in again.