First Reading1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12
From the First Book of Kings
1Now the days of David came near that he should die;and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,2“I am going the way of all the earth.You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;3and keep the instruction of the Lord your God,to walk in his ways,to keep his statutes,his commandments, his ordinances,and his testimonies,according to that which is written in the law of Moses,that you may prosper in all that you doand wherever you turn yourself.4Then the Lord may establish his wordwhich he spoke concerning me,saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way,to walk before me in truth with all their heartand with all their soul,there shall not fail you,’he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’
verses 5–9 are not read10David slept with his fathers,and was buried in David’s city.11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years;he reigned seven years in Hebron,and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.12Solomon sat on David his father’s throne;and his kingdom was firmly established.