1 Kings 2
2
1 Kings 2
1¶ Now the days of David drew near 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.
3Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, walking in his ways, keeping his statutes and his commandments and his rights and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou may have understanding in all that thou doest and in everything that thou dost undertake,
4that the Lord may confirm the word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, walking 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.
5Moreover thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me and what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner, the son of Ner and unto Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he slew, shedding the blood of war in peace and putting 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 Sheol in peace.
7But show mercy unto the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table, for they came thus unto me when I fled because of Absalom, thy brother.
8And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou should do with him, but thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.
10And David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12¶ Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.
13Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
14He said moreover, I have a word to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign, but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother’s, for by the Lord it was his.
16And now I ask one petition of thee, do not deny me. And she said unto him, Say on.
17Then he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not deny thee) that he give me Abishag, the Shunammite to wife.
18And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee unto the king.
19Bathsheba, therefore, went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. 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, do not deny me. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny thee.
21And she said, Let Abishag, the Shunammite, be given to Adonijah, thy brother, to wife.
22And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag, the Shunammite, for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother and he also has Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah.
23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, 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 confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.
25Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
26¶ And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
29And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
30And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the Lord and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, No, but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
31And the king said unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause.
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 without my father David knowing of it: Abner, the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
33Their blood shall, therefore, return upon the head of Joab, 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 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and fell upon him and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35¶ And the king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar.
36 Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere.
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 Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath.
40And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath.
41And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again.
42Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say 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 Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the Lord has turned 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.
46Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
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1 Kings 2: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
1 Kings 2
2
1The time of David's death was approaching, so he gave his son Solomon these last instructions:
2“I am about to go the way everybody on earth must go. Be brave, and act like a man. 3Do what God orders you to do, and follow his ways. Keep his rules, his commands, and his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses, so you may be successful in everything you do, and in everything you give your attention to. 4If so, then the Lord will keep his promise to me when he said: ‘If your descendants are to live right before me, faithfully and with complete commitment, then you will always have one of them on the throne of Israel.’
5In addition, you know what Joab, son of Zeruiah, did to me and what he did to Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether, the two army commanders of Israel. He murdered them, spilling the blood of war during a time of peace. He smeared the blood of war on his belt and on his sandals.#2:5. Thought by some to be a symbolic act that showed the complete destruction of the victim, ending his movement and his ability to father children. 6Do what you think is right, but don't let his gray head go down peacefully into the grave.
7But be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Bring them into your royal court,#2:7. Literally, “let them eat from your table.” for they helped me when I ran from your brother Absalom.
8Don't you forget Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed me with painful words when I went to Mahanaim. When he met me at the Jordan I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will not kill you with the sword.’ 9So don't leave him unpunished. You're a wise man and you know what you have to do to him—send him down into the grave with blood on his gray head.”
10Then David died and was buried in the City of David. 11His reign over Israel lasted forty years; seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12Solomon took over as king, sitting on the throne of his father David, and his hold on his kingdom was secure.
13Adonijah, son of Haggith, went to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked him, “Have you come here with good intentions?”#2:13. “With good intentions”: literally, “peaceably.” Knowing the previous history, Bathsheba was right to ask such a question. However, her acceptance of Adonijah's request is surprising, unless she saw what it might lead to. He replied, “Yes, with good intentions.”
14“I have something I'd like to ask of you,” he continued.
“Go on,” she said.
15“You know that the kingdom was mine,” he declared, “and everyone in Israel was looking forward to me being their next king. But everything was turned upside down, and the kingdom passed to my brother, because that's what the Lord wanted. 16Now I've just one request to ask of you—please don't say no.”
“Tell me,” she said.
17He went on, “Please talk to King Solomon for me because he won't turn you down. Ask him to give me Abishag from Shunem as my wife.”
18“Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will talk to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to talk to King Solomon for Adonijah. The king got up from his throne to meet her, and bowed before her. Then he sat back down and ordered another throne brought in for his mother. She sat to his right.
20“I have just one small request to ask of you,” she said. “Please don't say no.”
The king replied, “Ask away, dear mother. I won't say no to you.”
21“Please give Abishag from Shunem to your brother Adonijah as his wife,” she replied.
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why on earth are you asking me to give Abishag to Adonijah? You might as well ask me to give my brother the kingdom! He is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab, son of Zeruiah, are on his side!”
23Then King Solomon vowed before the Lord, “May God punish me, really punish me, if what Adonijah has asked for doesn't cost him his life. 24So I vow, as the Lord lives, who affirmed me as king and placed me on the throne of my father David, making me the head of a dynasty as he promised, Adonijah shall be executed today.”
25King Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who carried out the king's orders and executed Adonijah.
26In the case of Abiathar, the high priest, the king told him, “Go home and take care of your fields. You should be condemned to death, but I will not kill you right now because you carried the Ark of the Lord God ahead of my father David and went through all his hard times with him.” 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, and so fulfilled what the Lord had said at Shiloh regarding the descendants of Eli.#2:27. See 1 Samuel 2:30-35; 1 Samuel 3:11-14.
28When Joab heard the news he ran to the Lord's Tent and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. (He had not supported Absalom's rebellion but he had supported Adonijah.) 29When King Solomon was told that Joab was seeking sanctuary#2:29. Sanctuary: this only applied if the killing of another was accidental. This clearly was not the case for Joab's deliberate murders. by the altar, he sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to execute him.
30Benaiah went to the Lord's Tent and called to Joab, “The king orders you to come out!”
“No! I'll die here!” Joab replied.
Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said. 31“Do as he says,” the king told Benaiah. “Strike him down and bury him. In that way you will remove from me and my family the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32The Lord will pay him back for the blood he shed, for without my father David's knowledge, he killed two good men who were better than he was. With his sword he killed Abner, son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa, son of Jether, commander of Judah's army. 33May the responsibility for shedding their blood come back on Joab and his descendants forever; but may the Lord give peace and prosperity#2:33. “Peace and prosperity”: the word “shalom” includes both these concepts. to David, his descendants, his family, and his dynasty forever.”
34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned and killed Joab. He was buried at his home in the wilderness.
35The king appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to take over Joab's role as army commander, and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
36Then the king summoned Shimei and told him, “Go and build yourself a house in Jerusalem and stay there, but don't leave and go anywhere else. 37You should know for certain that the day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley you will die. Your death will be your own responsibility.”
38“What Your Majesty says is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has ordered.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves escaped to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.” 40So Shimei saddled up his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to look for his slaves. He found them and brought them back from Gath.
41Solomon was informed that Shimei had left Jerusalem to go to Gath, and had then returned.
42The king summoned Shimei and asked him, “Didn't I vow to you by the Lord, didn't I warn you that the day you left and went somewhere else that you should know for certain that you would die? Didn't you reply to me, ‘What Your Majesty says is fair; I'll do as you ordered’? 43So why haven't you kept your vow to the Lord, and obeyed my orders?”
44The king also told Shimei, “Deep down you know all the evil things you did to my father David. That's why the Lord will repay you for your evil. 45But I, King Solomon, will be blessed and David's dynasty will be kept safe in the presence of the Lord forever.”
46The king ordered Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to execute Shimei, so he went and killed Shimei. In this way Solomon's hold on the kingdom was made secure.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com