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
David’s Charge to Solomon
1Ch 29:26–28
1#Ge 47:29; Dt 31:14Now it was coming close to the day of David’s death, and he gave his son Solomon a charge, saying:
2#Jos 23:14; 1:6–7“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself to be a man. 3#Dt 29:9; 17:18–20And keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways, keeping His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4#2Sa 7:25; 1Ki 8:25that the Lord may carry out His word that He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children take heed to their way, to walk before Me in faithfulness with all their hearts and with all their souls, you shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
5#2Sa 3:27; 20:10“Moreover, you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the army of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, shedding the blood of war in a time of peace. He spilled their blood on the belt that was around his waist and on the shoes of his feet. 6#1Ki 2:9Do the right thing according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7#2Sa 9:7; 9:10“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them eat at your table, for with such loyalty they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8#2Sa 16:5–8“There is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9#1Ki 2:6; Ge 42:38Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave with blood.”
10#Ac 2:29; 13:36So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
11#2Sa 5:4–5; 1Ch 29:26–27David reigned over Israel forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12#2Ch 1:1So Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
The Throne of Solomon Established
13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come in peace?”
And he said, “I come peaceably.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.”
And she said, “Speak.”
15#1Ki 1:5; 1:25He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel viewed me as the king. However, the kingdom has become my brother’s, for it was given to him by the Lord. 16And now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.”
She said to him, “Keep speaking.”
17And 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 on your behalf.”
19#Ps 45:9So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her and bowed to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a seat placed at his right hand for her to sit upon.
20Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you. Please do not deny me.”
And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given as a wife to Adonijah your brother.”
22#1Ch 3:2King Solomon answered his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother. Ask not only for him, but also for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
23#Ru 1:17Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life. 24#1Ch 22:10Now 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, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.” 25#2Sa 8:18So King Solomon dispatched Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he executed him.
26#Jos 21:18; 1Sa 22:20–23The king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord God before David my father and because you shared in all the hardships my father endured.” 27#1Sa 2:27–36So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28#1Ki 1:7; 1:50Then word came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, though he did not support Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29#1Ki 2:25; Ex 21:14King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of the Lord and was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go and execute him.”
30So Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come forth.’ ”
And he said, “No, I will die here.”
And Benaiah told the king all Joab said.
31#Nu 35:33; Dt 21:8–9The king said to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and my father’s house the guilt for the blood Joab shed without cause. 32#Jdg 9:24; 2Ch 21:13The Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, for he attacked two men more righteous and better than he—Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah—and killed them with the sword when my father David was unaware. 33#1Ki 2:32Therefore their blood shall return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his seed forever, but upon David and upon his seed and upon his house and upon his throne shall the peace of the Lord rest forever.”
34#Jos 15:61; 1Ki 2:25So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and attacked and killed him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35#1Ki 2:27; 4:4The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab and put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
36The king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and never leave the city. 37#2Sa 1:16; 15:23For on the day you go out and pass over the Kidron Valley, know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood shall be on your own head.”
38Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39It came about that at the end of three years, two servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maakah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Your servants are in Gath.” 40Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
41Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42The king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warned you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and walk abroad anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?”
44#2Sa 16:5–13; 1Sa 25:39The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness in your heart and what you did to David my father. Therefore the Lord shall return your wickedness on your own head. 45#Pr 25:5But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”
46#1Ki 2:12; 2Ch 1:1So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who went out and attacked him so that he died.
And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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