1 Kings 2
2
1 Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; 3and keep the instruction of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the Torah of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself. 4Then the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet. 6Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his grey head go down to Sheol#2:6 Sheol is the place of the dead. in peace. 7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be amongst those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8“Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the 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 you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his grey head down to Sheol#2:9 Sheol is the place of the dead. with blood.”
10 David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city. 11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12Solomon sat on David his father’s throne; and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, “Do you come peaceably?”
He said, “Peaceably. 14He said moreover, I have something to tell you.”
She said, “Say on.”
15 He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom is turned around, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the LORD. 16Now I ask one petition of you. Don’t deny me.”
She said to him, “Say on.”
17 He said, “Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you ‘no’), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18 Bathsheba said, “All right. I will speak for you to the king.”
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you; don’t deny me.”
The king said to her, “Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny you.”
21She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for 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 established me and set me on my father David’s throne, and who has made me a house as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.”
25 King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died. 26To Abiathar the priest the king said, “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 Lord#2:26 The word translated “Lord” (mixed case) is “Adonai.” GOD’s ark before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon thrust Abiathar out from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfil the LORD’s word which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 This news came to Joab; for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he didn’t follow Absalom. Joab fled to the LORD’s Tent, and held onto the horns of the altar. 29King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the LORD’s Tent; and behold, he is by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall on him.”
30 Benaiah came to the LORD’s Tent, and said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
He said, “No; but I will die here.”
Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.”
31 The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him, that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house. 32The LORD will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah. 33So their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring#2:33 or, seed forever. But for David, for his offspring, for his house, and for his throne, there will be peace forever from the LORD.”
34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell on him, 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 Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
36 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there, and don’t go anywhere else. 37For on the day you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood will be on your own head.”
38 Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39 At the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.”
40 Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves; and Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.
42 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Didn’t I adjure you by the LORD and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and walk anywhere else, you shall surely die’? You said to me, ‘The saying that I have heard is good.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the commandment that I have instructed you with?” 44The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to David my father. Therefore the LORD will return your wickedness on your own head. 45But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will be established before the LORD forever.” 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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1 Kings 2
2
David's Last Instructions to Solomon
1When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: 2“My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, 3and do what the LORD your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. 4If you obey him, the LORD will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.
5 #
2 Sam 3.27; 20.10 “There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace in revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men#2.5 Some ancient translations innocent men; Hebrew men in battle. and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer#2.5 Some ancient translations I bear… and I suffer; Hebrew he bears… and he suffers. the consequences. 6You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.
7 #
2 Sam 17.27–29
“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.
8 #
2 Sam 16.5–13; 19.16–23 “There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the River Jordan, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the LORD that I would not have him killed. 9But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death.”
The Death of David
10David died and was buried in David's City. 11#2 Sam 5.4–5; 1 Chr 3.4He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. 12#1 Chr 29.23Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.
The Death of Adonijah
13Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.
“It is,” he answered, 14and then he added, “I have something to ask of you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
15He answered, “You know that I should have become king and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened differently, and my brother became king, because it was the LORD's will. 16And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it?” Bathsheba asked.
17 #
1 Kgs 1.3–4
He answered, “Please ask King Solomon — I know he won't refuse you — to let me have Abishag, the woman from Shunem, as my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one brought in on which she sat at his right. 20She said, “I have a small favour to ask of you; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it, mother?” he asked. “I will not refuse you.”
21She answered, “Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife.”
22“Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?” the king asked. “You might as well ask me to give him the throne too. After all, he is my elder brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!”#2.22 Some ancient translations and Abiathar the priest… on his side; Hebrew unclear. 23Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the LORD's name, “May God strike me dead if I don't make Adonijah pay with his life for asking this! 24The LORD has firmly established me on the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear by the living LORD that Adonijah will die this very day!”
25So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.
Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death
26 #
1 Sam 22.20–23; 2 Sam 15.24 Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not have you put to death now, for you were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box while you were with my father David, and you shared in all his troubles.” 27#1 Sam 2.27–36Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the LORD, and so he made what the LORD had said in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants come true.
28Joab heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the LORD's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.#2.28 corners of the altar: See 1.50. 29When the news reached King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had fled to the LORD because he was afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiah#2.29 One ancient translation Solomon sent a messenger… sent Benaiah; Hebrew Solomon sent Benaiah. to kill Joab. 30He went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out.”
“No,” Joab answered. “I will die here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.
31“Do what Joab says,” Solomon answered. “Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David's descendants will any longer be held responsible for what Joab did when he killed innocent men. 32The LORD will punish Joab for those murders, which he committed#2.32 will punish… committed; or will kill Joab, because he committed those murders. without my father David's knowledge. Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he: Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, commander of the army of Judah. 33The punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his descendants for ever. But the LORD will always give success to David's descendants who sit on his throne.”
34So Benaiah went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country. 35The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.
The Death of Shimei
36Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don't leave the city. 37If you ever leave and go beyond the brook of Kidron, you will certainly die — and you yourself will be to blame.”
38“Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39Three years later, however, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath, 40he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home. 41When Solomon heard what Shimei had done, 42he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the LORD's name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? 43Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command? 44You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The LORD will punish you for it. 45But he will bless me and he will make David's kingdom secure for ever.”
46Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.