1 Kings 2
2
David’s Charge to Solomon
1As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. 3Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in #Or faithfulnesstruth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. 6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace. 7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”
Death of David
10Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. 11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15So he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel expected me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. 16Now I am making one request of you; do not #Lit turn away my facerefuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”
Adonijah Executed
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. 20Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom—for he is my older brother—even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23Then 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. 24Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.
26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; 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 in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
Joab Executed
28Now the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him.” 30So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31The king said to him, “Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32The Lord will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but to David and his descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness. 35The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
Shimei Executed
36Now the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37For on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.” 38Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” 40Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I have laid on you?” 44The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.
Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.
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1 Kings 2: NASB1995
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Melachim Alef 2
2
1Now the days of Dovid drew near that he should die; and he charged Sh'lomo Bno, saying,
2I go the derech kol ha'aretz; be thou chazak therefore, and show thyself a man;
3And be shomer over the mishmeret (requirement, charge) of Hashem Eloheicha, to walk in His derakhim, to be shomer over His chukkot (decrees), and His mitzvot, and His mishpatim (ordinances), and His edot (testimonies), as it is written in the Torat Moshe, so that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and wherever thou turnest;
4So that Hashem may uphold His Davar (Word, Promise) which He spoke concerning me, saying, If thy banim are shomer over their derech, to walk before Me in emes with all their lev and with all their nefesh, there shall not yikaret l'cha (be cut off of you, fail thee) Ish on the Kisse Yisroel.
5Moreover thou knowest also what Yoav Ben Tzeruyah did to me, and what he did to the two sarim of the Tzivos Yisroel (Armies of Yisroel), unto Avner Ben Ner, and unto Amasa Ben Yeter, whom he killed, and the shefach dahm of war in shalom (peacetime), and put the dahm of milchamah (war) upon his khagorah (sword belt) that was about his loins, and on his na'alayim (sandals) that were on his raglayim.
6Do therefore according to thy chochmah, and let not his gray head go down to Sheol in shalom.
7But show chesed unto the Bnei Barzillai the Gil'adi, and let them be of those that eat at thy shulchan; for so they stood by me when I fled from before Avshalom achicha.
8And, hinei, thou hast with thee Shime'i Ben Gera the Ben-HaYemini of Bachurim, which cursed me with a kelalah (curse) nimretzet (grievous, strong) on the day when I went to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at Yarden, and I swore a shevu'ah to him by Hashem, saying, I will not put thee to death with the cherev.
9Now therefore hold him not guiltless; for thou art an ish chacham, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his gray head bring thou down with dahm to She'ol.
10So Dovid slept with his avot, and was buried in Ir Dovid.
11And the yamim that Dovid reigned as Melech over Yisroel were arba'im shanah; sheva shanim reigned he in Chevron, and shloshim v'shalosh shanim reigned he in Yerushalayim.
12Then sat Sh'lomo upon the Kisse Dovid Aviv; and Malchuso was firmly established.
13And Adoniyah Ben Chaggit came to Bat-Sheva Em Sh'lomo. And she said, Comest thou in shalom? And he said, Shalom.
14He said moreover, I have davar to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15And he said, Thou hast da'as that the meluchah (kingdom, monarchy) was mine, and that kol Yisroel set their faces on me, that I should reign as Melech; howbeit the meluchah has veered, and is become my brotherʼs; for it was his from Hashem.
16And now I ask thee one she'elah: refuse me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
17And he said, Speak, now, unto Sh'lomo HaMelech, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Avishag HaShunammit as isha.
18And Bat-Sheva said, Tov; I will speak for thee unto HaMelech.
19Bat-Sheva therefore went unto HaMelech Sh'lomo, to speak unto him for Adoniyah. And HaMelech rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his kisse, and caused a kisse to be set for Em HaMelech; and she sat on his yamin (right hand).
20Then she said, I desire one small she'elah of thee; now, say me not nay. And HaMelech said unto her, Ask on, immi: for I will not say thee nay.
21And she said, Let Avishag HaShunammit be given to Adoniyah thy brother as isha.
22And HaMelech Sh'lomo answered and said unto immo, And why dost thou request Avishag HaShunammit for Adoniyah? Ask for him the meluchah also; for he is achi hagadol; even for him, for Evyatar HaKohen, and for Yoav Ben Tzeruyah.
23Then HaMelech Sh'lomo swore a shevu'a by Hashem, saying, Elohim do so to me, and more also, if Adoniyah have not spoken this davar against his own nefesh.
24Now therefore, Hashem Chai (as Hashemliveth), which hath established me, and set me on the Kisse Dovid Avi, and who hath made me a Bayit ([Davidic] Dynasty), as He promised, Adoniyah shall be executed this day.
25And HaMelech Sh'lomo sent by the yad Benayah Ben Yehoyada; and he struck him that he died.
26And unto Evyatar (Abiathar) HaKohen said HaMelech, Get thee to Anatot, unto thine own sadot; for ish mavet atah (You are a man deserving of death); but I will not this day put thee to death, because thou borest the Aron Adonoi Hashem before Dovid Avi, and because thou hast shared hardship in all wherein Avi endured hardship.#2:26 See 2Ti 4:5
27So Sh'lomo thrust out Evyatar (Abiathar) from being Kohen unto Hashem; in order to fulfill the Devar Hashem, which He had spoken at Shiloh concerning the Bais Eli.#2:27 See 1Sm 2:30-35
28Then news came to Yoav; for Yoav had inclined after Adoniyah, though he turned not to take sides with Avshalom. And Yoav fled unto the Ohel Hashem, and caught hold the karnot HaMizbe'ach.
29And it was told Melech Sh'lomo that Yoav was fled unto the Ohel Hashem; and, hinei, he is beside the Mizbe'ach. Then Sh'lomo sent Benayah Ben Yehoyada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
30And Benayah came to the Ohel Hashem, and said unto him, Thus saith HaMelech, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benayah brought HaMelech word again, saying, Thus said Yoav, and thus he answered me.
31And HaMelech said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away from me the demei chinnam (innocent blood), the shefach dahm of Yoav, even from against the Bais Avi.
32And Hashem shall return his dahm upon his own rosh, who fell upon two anashim more tzaddikim and tovim than he, and killed them with the cherev, Dovid Avi not knowing thereof: Avner Ben Ner, Sar Tzava Yisroel, and Amasa Ben Yeter, Sar Tzava Yehudah.
33Let their dahm therefore turn back upon the rosh Yoav, and upon the rosh of his zera l'olam; but upon Dovid, and upon his Zera, and upon his Bais, and upon his Kisse, let there be shalom ad olam from Hashem.
34So Benayah Ben Yehoyada went up, and fell upon him, and executed him; and he was buried in his bais (house),#2:34 i.e. in court or garden of his house in the midbar.
35And in his place HaMelech put Benayah Ben Yehoyada in charge of the Tzava (Army); and Tzadok HaKohen did HaMelech put in the place of Evyatar.
36And HaMelech sent and summoned Shime'i, and said unto him, Build thee a bayit in Yerushalayim, and dwell there, and go not go out from there anywhere.
37For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the Kidron Valley, thou shalt know for certain that mot tamut (thou shalt surely die); thy dahm shall be upon thine own rosh.
38And Shime'i said unto HaMelech, Tov HaDavar (good is the word); just as adoni HaMelech hath said, so will thy eved do. And Shime'i dwelt in Yerushalayim yamim rabbim.
39And it came to pass at the end of shalosh shanim, that two of the avadim of Shime'i ran away unto Akhish Ben Ma'achah Melech Gat. And they told Shime'i, saying, Hinei, thy avadim are in Gat.
40And Shime'i arose, and saddled his chamor, and went to Gat to Akhish to search for his avadim; and Shime'i went, and brought back his avadim from Gat.
41And it was told Sh'lomo that Shime'i had gone from Yerushalayim to Gat, and had returned.
42And HaMelech sent and summoned Shime'i, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear a shevu'ah by Hashem, and adjured thee,#2:42 i.e., under oath saying, Know for a certain, on the yom thou goest out, and walkest abroad any place whatever#2:42 outside Yerushalayim that mot tamut (thou shalt surely die)? And thou saidst unto me, Tov HaDavar Sha'ma'ti (The good word I will hear, I will obey).
43Why then hast thou not been shomer over the Shevuat Hashem, and the Mitzvah that I have charged thee with?
44HaMelech said moreover to Shime'i, Thou knowest all the ra'ah which thine lev is privy to, that thou didst to Dovid Avi; therefore Hashem shall return thy ra'ah upon thine own rosh;
45And HaMelech Sh'lomo baruch, and the Kisse Dovid shall be nakhon (secure) before Hashem ad olam.
46So HaMelech commanded Benayah Ben Yehoyada, who went and fell upon him, that he died. The mamlachah was established in the yad Sh'lomo.
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