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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Military Bible Association
1 Kings 2
2
David’s Instructions for Solomon
1The days of David came near for him to die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am about to go the way of all the world. Be strong and be courageous.#Literally “as a man” 3You shall keep the charge of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as are written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and everywhere you turn, 4so that Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed of their way, to walk before me in faithfulness, with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.’ ”
5“Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me when he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Jether, and he murdered them and put the blood of war in a time of peace. He put the blood of war on the leather belt that was on his waist and on the sandals which were on his feet. 6You must act according to your wisdom, but you must not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace. 7Regarding the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, you shall do loyal love and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8And look, Shimei the son of Gera the son of the Benjaminite from Bahurim is with you. Now he cursed me severely#Literally “cursed me with a curse” when I went to Mahanaim, but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, so I swore to him by Yahweh, ‘I surely will not kill you with the sword.’ 9So then, do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man, and you will know what you must do to him. You must bring his grey hair down to Sheol with blood.”
10Then David slept with his ancestors#Or “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 thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12Then Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
Adonijah’s Persistence
13Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she said, “Are you coming in peace?”#Literally “Is peace your coming?” He said, “Peace.” 14Then he said, “May I have a word with you?”#Literally “A word is for me to you” Then she said, “Go on.” 15He said, “You know that the kingship was mine and that all Israel had set their face toward me as king, but the kingship turned around and became my brother’s, for it was from Yahweh for him to have it. 16Now one request I am asking from you, and you must not refuse me.”#Literally “not turn my face” Then she said to him, “Go on.” 17He said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, so that he will give to me Abishag the Shunnamite as wife.” 18Then Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak to the king concerning you.”
Solomon’s Responses to Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei
19Bathsheba came to King Solomon to speak to him concerning Adonijah, and the king got up to meet her, bowed down to her, and then sat on his throne. Then he set up a throne for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. 20She said, “I have one small request I am asking from you. Do not refuse me.”#Literally “not turn my face” The king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”#Literally “not turn your face” 21Then she said, “Let Abishag the Shunnamite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.” 22King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Why are you asking Abishag the Shunnamite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom, for he is my brother, older than I; and ask for him also Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “Thus may God do to me and thus may he add, if Adonijah hasn’t spoken this thing at the expense of his life. 24So then, as Yahweh lives,#Literally “the life of Yahweh” who has established me and seated me on the throne of my father David and who has established for me a dynasty as he promised, then surely Adonijah will be put to death today.” 25King Solomon sent through the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, so he struck him, and he died.
26To Abiathar the priest, the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your field, for you deserve to die,#Literally “you are a man of death” but on this day I will not kill you, for you carried the ark of the Lord Yahweh before David my father, and because you endured hardship in all the hardship that my father endured.” 27So Solomon banished Abiathar from being priest to Yahweh, thus fulfilling the word which Yahweh had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28When the message came to Joab (now Joab had supported#Literally “had turned after” Adonijah but had not supported#Literally “had not turned after” Absalom), he fled to the tent of Yahweh and grasped the horns of the altar. 29It was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh and was beside the altar. So Solomon sent word to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go and fall upon him.” 30So Benaiah went to the tent of Yahweh, and he said to him, “Thus says the king: ‘Come out.’ ” And he said, “No, for I want to die here.” So Benaiah returned a word to the king, saying, “Thus Joab spoke, and thus he answered me.” 31Then the king said to him, “Do as he spoke; fall upon him and bury him, and so you shall remove the innocent blood that Joab shed from on me and from on the house of my father. 32Yahweh will return his blood on his head, because he fell upon two men, more righteous and better than he, and he killed them with the sword, even though my father did not know it; namely Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33And their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever, but for David and his descendants and for his house and his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh.” 34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, and he fell on him and killed him, and he was buried in his house in the wilderness. 35Then the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.
36Then the king sent and summoned Shimei, and he said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but you must not go out anywhere whatsoever#Literally “where and where” from there. 37It shall happen that on the day you go out and cross over the Wadi#A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season Kidron, know for certain that you will surely die.#Literally “dying you will die” Your blood will be on your head.” 38Shimei said to the king, “The word is good that my lord the king has spoken to me; thus will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39It happened that at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves fled to Achish, son of Maacah, the king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Your slaves are here in Gath.” 40So Shimei got up and saddled his donkey, and he went to Gath, to Achish, to search for his slaves. So Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42the king sent and summoned Shimei, and he said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Yahweh? I warned you, saying, ‘On the day you go out and you go anywhere whatsoever,#Literally “where and where” know for certain that you will surely die.’#Literally “dying you will die” And you said to me, ‘The word is good; I accept.’ 43Why have you not kept the oath of Yahweh and the command which I commanded you?” 44Then the king said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which your heart knows, what you did to David my father. Now Yahweh will return the evil on your head, 45but King Solomon will be blessed and the throne of David will be established before Yahweh forever.” 46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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