1 Kings 2
2
David’s Final Words to Solomon
1 When David was close to death,#tn Heb “and the days of David approached to die.” he told#tn Or “commanded.” Solomon his son: 2 “I am about to die.#tn Heb “going the way of all the earth.” Be strong and become a man! 3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you#tn Heb “keep the charge of the Lord your God.” by following his instructions#tn Heb “by walking in his ways.” and obeying#tn Or “keeping.” his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish,#tn Heb “then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there.” 4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me,#tn Heb “then the Lord will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying.” ‘If your descendants watch their step#tn Heb “guard their way.” and live faithfully in my presence#tn Heb “by walking before me in faithfulness.” with all their heart and being,#tn Or “soul.” then,’ he promised,#tn Heb “saying.” ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’#tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”
5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether.#tn Heb “what he did to the two commanders…and he killed them.” During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle;#tn Heb “he shed the blood of battle in peace.” when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet.#tn Heb “and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet.” That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him. 6 Do to him what you think is appropriate,#tn Heb “according to your wisdom.” but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death.#tn Heb “and do not bring down his grey hair in peace [to] Sheol.”
7 “Treat fairly#tn Heb “do loyalty with”; or “act faithfully toward.” the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs,#tn Heb “and let them be among the ones who eat [at] your table.” because they helped me#tn Heb “drew near to.” when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.
8 “Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim,#tn Heb “Look, with you is Shimei….” who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim.#tn Heb “and he cursed me with a horrible curse on the day I went to Mahanaim.” He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised#tn Or “swore an oath to.” him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you down#tn Heb “kill you.” with the sword.’ 9 But now#tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek and the Vulgate have here “you” rather than “now.” The two words are homonyms in Hebrew. don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him;#tn Heb “what you should do to him.” make sure he has a bloody death.”#tn Heb “bring his grey hair down in blood [to] Sheol.”
10 Then David passed away#tn Heb “and David lay down with his fathers.” and was buried in the city of David.#sn The phrase the city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. 11 David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. thirty-three years.
Solomon Secures the Throne
12 Solomon sat on his father David’s throne, and his royal authority#tn Or “kingship.” was firmly solidified.
13 Haggith’s son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come in peace?” He answered, “Yes.”#tn Heb “[in] peace.” 14 He added,#tn Heb “and he said.” “I have something to say to you.” She replied, “Speak.” 15 He said, “You know that the kingdom#tn Or “kingship.” was mine and all Israel considered me king.#tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.” But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his.#tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the Lord it became his.” 16 Now I’d like to ask you for just one thing. Please don’t refuse me.”#tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.” She said, “Go ahead and ask.”#tn Heb “She said, ‘Speak!’” 17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won’t refuse you.”#tn Heb “Say to Solomon the king, for he will not turn back your face, that he might give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.” 18 Bathsheba replied, “That’s fine,#tn Heb “[It is] good!” I’ll speak to the king on your behalf.”
19 So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet#tn Or “meet.” her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother,#tn Heb “he set up a throne for the mother of the king.” and she sat at his right hand. 20 She said, “I would like to ask you for just one small favor.#tn Or “I’d like to make just one request of you.” Please don’t refuse me.”#tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.” He said,#tn Heb “and the king said to her.” “Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you.” 21 She said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him?#tn Heb “for Adonijah.” Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
23 King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely,#tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.” if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life!#tn Heb “if with his life Adonijah has not spoken this word.” 24 Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David’s throne, and established a dynasty#tn Heb “house.” for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!” 25 King Solomon then sent#tn The Hebrew text adds, “by the hand of.” Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah.#tn Heb “and he struck him and he died.”
26 The king then told Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your property#tn Or “field.” in Anathoth. You deserve to die,#tn Heb “you are a man of death.” but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.”#tn Heb “and because you suffered through all which my father suffered.” 27 Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord,#tn Heb “Solomon drove out Abiathar from being a priest to the Lord.” fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli.#tn Heb “fulfilling the word of the Lord which he spoke against the house of Eli in Shiloh.”
28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported#tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse). Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he#tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons. ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.#sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon. 29 When King Solomon heard#tn Heb “and it was related to King Solomon.” that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada,#tn Heb “so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying.” “Go, strike him down.” 30 When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But he replied, “No, I will die here!” So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab’s reply.#tn Heb “saying, “In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me.” 31 The king told him, “Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father’s family#tn Heb “house.” the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds.#tn Heb “take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father.” 32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed;#tn Heb “The Lord will cause his blood to return upon his head.” behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he#tn Heb “because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know.” – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family,#tn Heb “house.” and his dynasty.”#tn Heb “his throne.” 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab;#tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. he was buried at his home in the wilderness. 35 The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of#tn Heb “over.” the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place.#tc The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.
36 Next the king summoned#tn Heb “sent and summoned.” Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere!#tn Heb “and you may not go out from there here or there.” 37 If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death.”#tn Heb “your blood will be upon your head.” 38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable.#tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.” Your servant will do as you say.”#tn Heb “so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.#tn Heb “many days.”
39 Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.” 40 So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. 41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, 42 the king summoned#tn Heb “sent and summoned.” Shimei and said to him, “You will recall#tn Heb “Is it not [true]…?” In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course it is.” that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere,#tn Heb “here or there.” know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’#tn Heb “good is the word; I have heard.” 43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?”#tn Heb “Why have you not kept the oath [to] the Lord and the commandment I commanded you?” 44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David.#tn Heb “You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father.” The Lord will punish you for what you did.#tn Heb “The Lord will cause your evil to return upon your head.” 45 But King Solomon will be empowered#tn Or “blessed.” and David’s dynasty#tn Heb “throne.” will endure permanently before the Lord.” 46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei.#tn “The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died.”
So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom.#tn “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”
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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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