1 Kings 2
2
The Death of David
1It was almost time for David to die. So he talked to Solomon and gave him his last commands. 2David said, “My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. 3Obey everything that the Lord commands. Follow the commands he has given us. Obey all his laws, and do what he told us. Obey what is written in the teachings of Moses. If you do these things, you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4And if you obey the Lord, he will keep the promise he made to me. He promised: ‘Your descendants must live as I tell them. They must have complete faith in me. If they do this, then a man from your family will always be king over the people of Israel.’
5“Also, you remember what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me. He killed the two commanders of Israel’s armies. He killed Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them as if he and they were at war. But this was in a time of peace. He killed innocent men. And their blood got on his belt and sandals. 6You should punish him in the way you think is wisest. (But do not let him die peacefully of old age.)
7“Be kind to the children of Barzillai of Gilead. Allow them to eat at your table. They helped me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
8“And remember, Shimei son of Gera is here with you. He is from the people of Benjamin in Bahurim. Remember he cursed me the day I went to Mahanaim. Then he came down to meet me at the Jordan River. I promised him before the Lord, ‘Shimei, I will not kill you.’ 9But you should not leave him unpunished. You are a wise man. You will know what to do to him. But you must be sure he is killed.”
10Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. 11He had ruled over Israel 40 years. Seven years were in Hebron, and 33 years were in Jerusalem.
Solomon Takes Control as King
12Now Solomon became king after David, his father. And he was in control of his kingdom.
13At this time Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Adonijah answered, “Yes. This is a peaceful visit. 14I have something to say to you.”
“You may speak,” she said.
15Adonijah said, “You remember that at one time the kingdom was mine. All the people of Israel thought I was their king. But things changed. Now my brother is the king because the Lord chose him. 16So now I have one thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
Bathsheba answered, “What do you want?”
17Adonijah said, “I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him. So please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite woman to be my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk to him for Adonijah. When Solomon saw her, he stood up to meet her. Then he bowed down to her and sat on the throne. He told some servants to bring another throne for his mother. Then she sat down at his right side.
20Bathsheba said to him, “I have one small thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
The king answered, “Ask, mother. I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite woman to marry your brother Adonijah.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask me to give him Abishag? Why don’t you ask for him to become the king also since he is my older brother? Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah will support him!”
23Then King Solomon made a promise in the name of the Lord. He said, “I promise Adonijah will pay for asking me this! May God punish me terribly if it doesn’t cost Adonijah his life! 24The Lord has given me the throne that belonged to my father David. The Lord has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my people. As surely as the Lord lives, Adonijah will die today!” 25So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada. And he went out and killed Adonijah.
26Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “I should kill you. But I will allow you to go back to your home in Anathoth. I will not kill you now because you helped to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord God while marching with my father David. And I know you shared in all of the hard times with my father.” 27So Solomon removed Abiathar from being a priest to the Lord. This happened as the Lord had said it would. He had said this about the priest Eli and his family in Shiloh.
28When Joab heard about this, he was afraid. He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom. So Joab ran to the Tent of the Lord and took hold of the corners of the altar.# If a person were innocent of a crime, he could run into the Holy Place. If he held on to the corners of the altar there, he would not be punished. The corners looked like horns. 29Someone told King Solomon that Joab had run to the Tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. So Solomon ordered Benaiah to go and kill him.
30Benaiah went into the Tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.”
So Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said. 31Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says! Kill him there and bury him. Then my family and I will be free of the guilt of Joab. Joab is guilty of killing innocent people. 32He killed two men who were much better than he was. They were Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. Abner was the commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa was the commander of Judah’s army. My father David did not know that he killed them. So the Lord will pay him back for those men he killed. 33He and his family will be forever guilty for their deaths. But there will be peace from God for David, his descendants, his family and his rule forever.”
34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada killed Joab. And he was buried near his home in the desert. 35Solomon then made Benaiah son of Jehoiada commander of the army in Joab’s place. Solomon also made Zadok the new high priest in Abiathar’s place.
36Next the king sent for Shimei. The king said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in the house, and don’t leave the city. 37If you leave and go past Kidron Valley, someone will kill you. And it will be your own fault.”
38So Shimei answered the king, “What you have said is good. I will obey you, my master and king.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away. They went to Achish king of Gath. He was the son of Maacah. Shimei heard that his slaves were in Gath. 40So he put his saddle on his donkey and left. He went to Achish at Gath to find his slaves. When he found them there, he brought them back to his home.
41Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42So Solomon sent for Shimei. Solomon said, “I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you that if you went anywhere else you would die. And you agreed to what I said. You said you would obey me. 43Why did you break your promise to the Lord? Why did you not obey my command? 44You know the many wrong things you did against my father David. Now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs. 45But the Lord will bless me. He will make the rule of David safe before the Lord forever.”
46Then the king ordered Benaiah to kill Shimei, and he did. Now Solomon was in full control of his kingdom.
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1 Kings 2: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
1 Kings 2
2
1-4When David’s time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, “I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go. Then God will confirm what he promised me when he said, ‘If your sons watch their step, staying true to me heart and soul, you’ll always have a successor on Israel’s throne.’
5-6“And don’t forget what Joab son of Zeruiah did to the two commanders of Israel’s army, to Abner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Jether. He murdered them in cold blood, acting in peacetime as if he were at war, and has been stained with that blood ever since. Do what you think best with him, but by no means let him get off scot-free—make him pay.
7“But be generous to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite—extend every hospitality to them; that’s the way they treated me when I was running for my life from Absalom your brother.
8-9“You also will have to deal with Shimei son of Gera the Benjaminite from Bahurim, the one who cursed me so viciously when I was on my way to Mahanaim. Later, when he welcomed me back at the Jordan, I promised him under God, ‘I won’t put you to death.’ But neither should you treat him as if nothing ever happened. You’re wise, you know how to handle these things. You’ll know what to do to make him pay before he dies.”
* * *
10-12Then David joined his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. David ruled Israel for forty years—seven years in Hebron and another thirty-three in Jerusalem. Solomon took over on the throne of his father David; he had a firm grip on the kingdom.
Solomon
13-14Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Do you come in peace?”
He said, “In peace.” And then, “May I say something to you?”
“Go ahead,” she said, “speak.”
15-16“You know that I had the kingdom right in my hands and everyone expected me to be king, and then the whole thing backfired and the kingdom landed in my brother’s lap—God’s doing. So now I have one request to ask of you; please don’t refuse me.”
“Go ahead, ask,” she said.
17“Ask King Solomon—he won’t turn you down—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
18“Certainly,” said Bathsheba. “I’ll speak to the king for you.”
19Bathsheba went to King Solomon to present Adonijah’s request. The king got up and welcomed her, bowing respectfully, and returned to his throne. Then he had a throne put in place for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.
20She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you. Don’t refuse me.”
The king replied, “Go ahead, Mother; of course I won’t refuse you.”
21She said, “Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “What kind of favor is this, asking that Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah? Why don’t you just ask me to hand over the whole kingdom to him on a platter since he is my older brother and has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side!”
23-24Then King Solomon swore under God, “May God do his worst to me if Adonijah doesn’t pay for this with his life! As surely as God lives, the God who has set me firmly on the throne of my father David and has put me in charge of the kingdom just as he promised, Adonijah will die for this—today!”
25King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck Adonijah and he died.
26The king then told Abiathar the priest, “You’re exiled to your place in Anathoth. You deserve death but I’m not going to kill you—for now anyway—because you were in charge of the Chest of our ruling God in the company of David my father, and because you shared all the hard times with my father.”
27Solomon stripped Abiathar of his priesthood, fulfilling God’s word at Shiloh regarding the family of Eli.
28-29When this news reached Joab, this Joab who had conspired with Adonijah (although he had remained loyal in the Absalom affair), he took refuge in the sanctuary of God, seizing the horns of the Altar and holding on for dear life. King Solomon was told that Joab had escaped to the sanctuary of God and was clinging to the Altar; he immediately sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada with orders, “Kill him.”
30Benaiah went to the sanctuary of God and said, “King’s orders: Come out.”
He said, “No—I’ll die right here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and reported, “This was Joab’s answer.”
31-33The king said, “Go ahead then, do what he says: Kill him and bury him. Absolve me and my father’s family of the guilt from Joab’s senseless murders. God is avenging those bloody murders on Joab’s head. Two men he murdered, men better by far than he ever was: Behind my father’s back he brutally murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. Responsibility for their murders is forever fixed on Joab and his descendants; but for David and his descendants, his family and kingdom, the final verdict is God’s peace.”
34-35So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went back, struck Joab, and killed him. He was buried in his family plot out in the desert. The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
36-37The king next called in Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but you are not to leave the area. If you so much as cross the Brook Kidron, you’re as good as dead—you will have decreed your own death sentence.”
38Shimei answered the king, “Oh, thank you! Your servant will do exactly as my master the king says.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39-40But it so happened that three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” Shimei sprang into action, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish in Gath looking for his slaves. And then he came back, bringing his slaves.
41Solomon was told, “Shimei left Jerusalem for Gath, and now he’s back.”
42-43Solomon then called for Shimei and said, “Didn’t I make you promise me under God, and give you a good warning besides, that you would not leave this area? That if you left you would have decreed your own death sentence? And didn’t you say, ‘Oh, thank you—I’ll do exactly as you say’? So why didn’t you keep your sacred promise and do what I ordered?”
44-45Then the king told Shimei, “Deep in your heart you know all the evil that you did to my father David; God will now avenge that evil on you. But King Solomon will be blessed and the rule of David will be a sure thing under God forever.”
46The king then gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he went out and struck Shimei dead.
The kingdom was now securely in Solomon’s grasp.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.