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
1Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; 3and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4that the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
5 #
2 Sam 3.27;
2 Sam 20.10. Moreover thou knowest also what Jo´ab the son of Zeru-i´ah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Ama´sa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7#2 Sam 17.27-29. But show kindness unto the sons of Barzil´lai the Gil´e-adite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Ab´salom thy brother. 8#2 Sam 16.5-13; 2 Sam 19.16-23. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shim´e-i the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahu´rim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahana´im: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
The Death of David
(1 Chronicles 29.26-30)
10So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11#2 Sam 5.4,5; 1 Chr 3.4. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. 12#1 Chr 29.23. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
Solomon Establishes His Kingdom
13And Adoni´jah the son of Haggith came to Bath–she´ba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. 14He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. 15And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord. 16And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. 17And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Ab´ishag the Shu´nammite to wife. 18And Bath–she´ba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
19Bath–she´ba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adoni´jah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not say thee nay. 21And she said, Let Ab´ishag the Shu´nammite be given to Adoni´jah thy brother to wife. 22And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Ab´ishag the Shu´nammite for Adoni´jah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abi´athar the priest, and for Jo´ab the son of Zeru-i´ah. 23Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adoni´jah have not spoken this word against his own life. 24Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adoni´jah shall be put to death this day. 25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada; and he fell upon him that he died.
26 #
2 Sam 15.24;
1 Sam 22.20-23. And unto Abi´athar the priest said the king, Get thee to An´athoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27#1 Sam 2.27-36. So Solomon thrust out Abi´athar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28Then tidings came to Jo´ab: for Jo´ab had turned after Adoni´jah, though he turned not after Ab´salom. And Jo´ab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29And it was told king Solomon that Jo´ab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30And Benai´ah came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benai´ah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Jo´ab, and thus he answered me. 31And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Jo´ab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. 32And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Ama´sa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Jo´ab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord. 34So Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35And the king put Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abi´athar.
36And the king sent and called for Shim´e-i, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 37For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 38And Shim´e-i said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shim´e-i dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shim´e-i ran away unto Achish son of Ma´achah king of Gath. And they told Shim´e-i, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. 40And Shim´e-i arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shim´e-i went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41And it was told Solomon that Shim´e-i had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42And the king sent and called for Shim´e-i, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. 43Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 44The king said moreover to Shim´e-i, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father; therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head: 45and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. 46So the king commanded Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died.
And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.