M'lakhim Alef (1 Ki) 2
2
1The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: 2âI am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. 3Observe the charge of Adonai your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go. 4If you do, Adonai will fulfill what he promised me when he said, âIf your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Israâel.â
5âMoreover, you are aware of what Yoâav the son of Tzâruyah did to me, that is, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israâel, Avner the son of Ner and âAmasa the son of Yeter â he killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet. 6Therefore, act according to your wisdom; donât let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7âBut show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gilâadi. Include them with those who eat at your table, because they came and stood with me when I was fleeing from Avshalom your brother.
8âFinally, you have with you Shimâi the son of Gera the Binyamini, from Bachurim. He laid a terrible curse on me when I was on my way to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at the Yarden; so I swore to him by Adonai that I would not have him put to death with the sword. 9Now, however, you should not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him â you will bring his gray head down to the grave with blood.â
10Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11David had ruled Israâel for forty years â seven years in Hevron and thirty-three years in Yerushalayim.
12Shlomo sat on the throne of David his father; and his rule had become firmly established, 13when Adoniyah the son of Haggit came to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo. She asked, âHave you come as a friend?â He answered, âYes, as a friend.â 14Then he continued, âI have something to say to you.â She said, âGo on.â 15He said, âYou know that the kingdom should have been mine, that all Israâel was looking to me to be their ruler. No matter; the kingdom has turned around and become my brotherâs, because Adonai gave it to him. 16But now I ask one favor of you; donât deny me.â âGo on,â she said. 17He said, âPlease speak to Shlomo the king â for he wonât say âNoâ to you â and ask him to give me Avishag the Shunamit as my wife.â 18Bat-Sheva said, âAll right, I will speak to the king on your behalf.â
19So Bat-Sheva went to King Shlomo to speak to him on behalf of Adoniyah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne set up for the kingâs mother, so that she sat at his right. 20She said, âI am asking one small favor of you; donât deny me.â The king said to her, âAsk, mother; I wonât deny you.â 21She said, âLet Avishag the Shunamit be given to Adoniyah your brother as his wife.â 22King Shlomo answered his mother, âWhy are you asking Avishag the Shunamit for Adoniyah? Ask the kingdom for him too! After all, heâs my older brother! Yes, for him, and for Evyatar the cohen and for Yoâav the son of Tzâruyah!â 23Then King Shlomo swore by Adonai, âMay God do terrible things to me and worse if Adoniyah hasnât condemned himself to death with this request! 24Now therefore, as Adonai lives, who has established me, put me on the throne of David my father and set up a dynasty for me, as he promised, Adoniyah will certainly be put to death today.â 25King Shlomo commissioned Bânayah the son of Yâhoyada, and he struck him down, so that he died.
26To Evyatar the cohen the king said, âYou, get yourself to âAnatot, to your own fields. You deserve to die; but I wonât put you to death just now; since you did carry the ark of adonai Elohim before David my father; and you suffered together with my father in everything he suffered.â 27So Shlomo forced Evyatar out of his task as cohen to Adonai, so that what Adonai had said in Shiloh about the family of âEli might be fulfilled.
28When the news came to Yoâav, he fled to the tent of Adonai and took hold of the horns of the altar; for Yoâav had given his support to Adoniyah, even though he had not supported Avshalom. 29King Shlomo was told, âYoâav has fled to the tent of Adonai; heâs there by the altar.â Shlomo sent Bânayah the son of Yâhoyada with the order, âGo, strike him down.â 30Bânayah came to the tent of Adonai and said to him, âThe king says: leave!â He answered, âNo, Iâd rather die here.â Bânayah brought the message back to the king, âThis is what Yoâav said to me.â 31The king answered him, âDo what he said â strike him down, and bury him. In this way you will take away from me and my fatherâs family the blood which Yoâav shed for no reason. 32Adonai will bring his blood back on his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he â he killed them with the sword without my father Davidâs awareness: Avner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israâel, and âAmasa the son of Yeter, commander of the army of Yâhudah. 33In this way their blood will return on the head of Yoâav and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his family and his throne there will be peace forever from Adonai.â 34So Bânayah the son of Yâhoyada went up, struck him down and killed him; he was buried in his own house in the desert. 35The king put Bânayah the son of Yâhoyada in charge of the army instead of him, and the king replaced Evyatar with Tzadok the cohen.
36The king summoned Shimâi and said to him, âBuild yourself a house in Yerushalayim, and live there; donât go outside the city walls. 37Know for a fact that on the day you go out and cross Vadi Kidron, you will certainly die; your blood will be on your own head.â 38Shimâi answered the king, âWhat you have said is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.â So Shimâi lived in Yerushalayim for a long time.
39But after three years, two of Shimâiâs slaves ran away and went to Akhish son of Maâakhah, king of Gat. They told Shimâi, âYour slaves are in Gat.â 40So Shimâi set out, saddled his donkey and went to Akhish in Gat to look for his slaves; then Shimâi returned, bringing his slaves from Gat.
41Shlomo was told that Shimâi had gone from Yerushalayim to Gat and back. 42The king summoned Shimâi and said to him, âDidnât I have you swear by Adonai and forewarn you by telling you, âKnow for a fact that on the day you leave and go anywhere outside the city, you will certainly dieâ? and you answered me, âWhat youâre saying is good; I hear it.â 43Why, then, havenât you kept the oath of Adonai and the mitzvah I charged you with?â 44Moreover, the king said to Shimâi, âYou know in your own heart all the terrible things you did to David my father; therefore Adonai will bring back your wickedness on your own head. 45But King Shlomo will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before Adonai forever.â 46So the king gave the order to Bânayah the son of Yâhoyada, and he went out and struck him down, so that he died.
Thus the kingdom was established in Shlomoâs hands.
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M'lakhim Alef (1 Ki) 2: CJB
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