I Kings 2
2
David’s Instructions to Solomon
1Now #Gen. 47:29; Deut. 31:14the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: 2#Josh. 23:14“I go the way of all the earth; #Deut. 31:7, 23; 1 Chr. 22:13be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 3And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may #(Deut. 29:9; Josh. 1:7); 1 Chr. 22:12, 13prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4that the Lord may #2 Sam. 7:25fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, #(Ps. 132:12)‘If your sons take heed to their way, to #2 Kin. 20:3walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, #2 Sam. 7:12, 13; 1 Kin. 8:25‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah #2 Sam. 3:39; 18:5, 12, 14did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to #2 Sam. 3:27; 1 Kin. 2:32Abner the son of Ner and #2 Sam. 20:10Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 6Therefore do #1 Kin. 2:9; Prov. 20:26according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
7“But show kindness to the sons of #2 Sam. 19:31–39Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who #2 Sam. 9:7, 10; 19:28eat at your table, for so #2 Sam. 17:17–29they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8“And see, you have with you #2 Sam. 16:5–13Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But #2 Sam. 19:18he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and #2 Sam. 19:23I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore, #Ex. 20:7; Job 9:28do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but #Gen. 42:38; 44:31bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
Death of David
10So #1 Kin. 1:21; Acts 2:29; 13:36David rested with his fathers, and was buried in #2 Sam. 5:7; 1 Kin. 3:1the City of David. 11The period that David #2 Sam. 5:4, 5; 1 Chr. 3:4; 29:26, 27reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12#1 Kin. 1:46; 1 Chr. 29:23Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was #1 Kin. 2:46; 2 Chr. 1:1firmly established.
Solomon Executes Adonijah
13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, #1 Sam. 16:4, 5“Do you come peaceably?”
And he said, “Peaceably.” 14Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.”
And she said, “Say it.”
15Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was #1 Kin. 1:11, 18mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for #1 Chr. 22:9, 10; 28:5–7; (Dan. 2:21)it was his from the Lord. 16Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.”
And she said to him, “Say it.”
17Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me #1 Kin. 1:3, 4Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
19Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and #(Ex. 20:12)bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; #Ps. 45:9so she sat at his right hand. 20Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.”
And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my #1 Kin. 1:6; 2:15; 1 Chr. 3:2, 5older brother—for him, and for #1 Kin. 1:7Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, #Ruth 1:17“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 confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for me, as He #2 Sam. 7:11, 13; 1 Chr. 22:10promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25So King Solomon sent by the hand of #2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Kin. 4:4Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed
26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to #Josh. 21:18; Jer. 1:1Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, #1 Sam. 22:23; 23:6; 2 Sam. 15:14, 29because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might #1 Sam. 2:31–35fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28Then news came to Joab, for Joab #1 Kin. 1:7had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and #1 Kin. 1:50took hold of the horns of the altar. 29And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, #1 Kin. 2:5, 6strike him down.” 30So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, #(Ex. 21:14)‘Come out!’ ”
And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31Then the king said to him, #(Ex. 21:14)“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, #(Num. 35:33; Deut. 19:13; 21:8, 9)that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32So the Lord #(Gen. 9:6); Judg. 9:24, 57will return his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous #2 Chr. 21:13, 14and better than he, and killed them with the sword—#2 Sam. 3:27Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and #2 Sam. 20:9, 10Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and #2 Sam. 3:29upon the head of his descendants forever. #(Prov. 25:5)But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”
34So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put #1 Sam. 2:35; 1 Kin. 4:4; 1 Chr. 6:53; 24:3; 29:22Zadok the priest in the place of #1 Kin. 2:27Abiathar.
Shimei Executed
36Then the king sent and called for #2 Sam. 16:5–13; 1 Kin. 2:8Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 37For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross #2 Sam. 15:23; 2 Kin. 23:6; John 18:1the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; #Lev. 20:9; Josh. 2:19; 2 Sam. 1:16; Ezek. 18:13your blood shall be on your own head.”
38And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to #1 Sam. 27:2Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?” 44The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, #2 Sam. 16:5–13all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will #1 Sam. 25:39; 2 Kin. 11:1, 12–16; Ps. 7:16; Ezek. 17:19return your wickedness on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and #2 Sam. 7:13; (Prov. 25:5)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 struck him down, and he died. Thus the #1 Kin. 2:12; 2 Chr. 1:1kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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I Kings 2: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 2
2
1 Now the days of David had drawn near, so that he would die, and he instructed his son Solomon, saying:
2 "I am entering the way of all the earth. Be strengthened and be a good man.
3 And observe the care of the Lord your God, so that you walk in his ways, so that you care for his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, just as it is written in the law of Moses. So may you understand everything that you do, in any direction that you may turn yourself.
4 So may the Lord confirm his words, which he has spoken about me, saying: 'If your sons will guard their ways, and if they will walk before me in truth, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from you a man on the throne of Israel.'
5 Also, you know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, has done to me, what he did to the two leaders of the army of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner, and to Amasa, the son of Jether. He killed them, and so he shed the blood of war in peace time, and he set the bloodshed of battle on his belt, which was around his waist, and in his shoes, which were on his feet.
6 Therefore, act according to your wisdom. And you shall not allow his gray head to be led away to death in peace.
7 Then, too, repay grace to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. And you shall allow them to eat at your table. For they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom, your brother.
8 Also, you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went away to the camp. And he descended to meet me when I crossed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death by the sword,'
9 yet do not choose to treat him as if he were innocent. Since you are a wise man, you will know what to do with him. And you shall lead away his grey hair to death with blood."
10 And so, David slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David.
11 Now the days during which David reigned over Israel are forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron, thirty-three in Jerusalem.
12 Then Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly.
13 And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, entered to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said to him, "Is your entrance peaceful?" He responded, "It is peaceful."
14 And he added, "My word is for you." She said to him, "Speak." And he said:
15 "You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all of Israel had preferred me for themselves as king. But the kingdom was transferred, and has become my brother's. For it was appointed to him by the Lord.
16 Now therefore, I beg of you one petition. May you not confound my face." And she said to him, "Speak."
17 And he said: "I beg that you may speak to king Solomon, for he is not able to refuse anything to you, so that he may give Abishag the Shunammite to me as wife."
18 And Bathsheba said: "It is well. I will speak to the king on your behalf."
19 Then Bathsheba went to king Solomon, so that she might speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and he reverenced her, and he sat down upon his throne. And a throne was stationed for the mother of the king, and she sat at his right hand.
20 And she said to him: "I petition one small request from you. May you not confound my face." And the king said to her: "Ask, my mother. For it is not right that I turn away your face."
21 And she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, your brother, as wife."
22 And king Solomon responded, and he said to his mother: "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why not request the kingdom for him! For he is my older brother, and he has Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah."
23 And so king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying: "May God do these things to me, and may he add these other things! For Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life.
24 And now, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and placed me upon the throne of my father David, and who, just as he said, has made a house for me: Adonijah shall be put to death this day."
25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who put him to death, and so he died.
26 Also, the king said to Abiathar, the priest: "Go into Anathoth, to your own land, for you are a man worthy of death. But I will not put you to death this day, since you carried the ark of the Lord God before David, my father, and since you have endured hardship in all the things, for which my father labored."
27 Therefore, Solomon cast out Abiathar, so that he would not be the priest of the Lord, so that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke over the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28 And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned aside after Adonijah, and he had not turned aside after Solomon. And so, Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and he took hold of the horn of the altar.
29 And it was reported to king Solomon that Joab had fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and that he was beside the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, "Go, put him to death."
30 And Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and he said to him: "The king says this: 'Come out.' " But he said: "I will not come out. Instead, I will die here." Benaiah sent word back to the king, saying, "Joab said this, and he responded to me in this way."
31 And the king said to him, "Do just as he has said. And put him to death, and bury him. And so shall you take away the innocent blood, which was shed by Joab, from me and from my father's house.
32 And the Lord shall repay his blood upon his own head. For he killed two men, just and better than himself, and he killed them with the sword, while my father, David, did not know it: Abner, the son of Ner, leader of the military of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, leader of the army of Judah.
33 And their blood shall be turned back upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his offspring forever. But as for David, and his offspring and house, and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord, even unto eternity."
34 And so Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and, attacking him, put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the desert.
35 And the king appointed Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the army. And he appointed Zadok, the priest, in place of Abiathar.
36 Also, the king sent for and summoned Shimei, and he said to him: "Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and live there. And do not depart from that place to here or to there.
37 For on whatever day you will have departed and crossed the torrent Kidron, know that you shall be put to death. Your blood will be upon your own head."
38 And Shimei said to the king: "The word is good. Just as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do." And so Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.
39 But it happened that, after three years, the servants of Shimei fled to Achish, the son of Maacah, the king of Gath. And it was reported to Shimei that his servants had gone away to Gath.
40 And Shimei rose up, and he saddled his donkey. And went away to Achish in Gath, in order to seek his servants. And he led them away from Gath.
41 And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone away from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.
42 And sending, he summoned him, and he said to him: "Did I not testify to you by the Lord, and warn you in advance, 'On whatever day, having departed, you go forth to here or to there, know that you shall die?' And you responded to me, 'The word that I have heard is good.'
43 Then why have you not kept the oath to the Lord, and the commandment which I instructed to you?"
44 And the king said to Shimei: "You know all the evil, of which your heart is conscious, which you did to David, my father. The Lord has repaid your wickedness upon your own head."
45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord, even forever.
46 And so the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And going out, he struck him down, and he died.
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